The Romantic Period: Favourite Art

Francisco Goya. The Shootings of May Third. 1808. Goya has always been a favourite painter. Although he painted many potraits for the aristocracy, his other pieces follow a very different technique and style, unique for his time. Being quite politically intune, Goya focused many of his works on events that happened around him, and painted in a very realistic manner. His use of colour is especially unique amidst other professional artists in the Romantic Period. He is not afraid to use bold and intense colour, which accentuates the drama of the scene he is painting. His pieces are captivating and truthful. In this particular painting, I am impressed by Guya's ability to get his audience's empathy immediately: the victim in the painting seems to emmit light: innocence. The red of the blood stands out- the gore taints the painting. the figures in the background portray such emotion that the audience instantly detests the shooters: the oppressors. This is quite typical of social thinking in the Romantic Period.