Winner, Outstanding Essay Award, Honors Category, 2003

Rebecca B. Carter
ENG 291-26
Professor Robert K. Wallace
February 6, 2003

This is what you were born for:
An Analysis on Goya and the Futility of War

This is what you were born for, plate 12 of Goya’s The Disaster of War, is a disturbing and confounding portrayal of the pointlessness of war. The focal image of the piece is that of a man retching over a pile of lifeless bodies, presumably reacting to the horrible repercussions of a deadly battle. Sickened by the sight and smell of death, his strange and imposing figure leans awkwardly over the deceased, contending with the ominous shadow that dominates the background. The work is expressive and troubling, drawing the viewer into the inevitable despair of war.

The general composition of the work is one of obvious imbalance, nauseating the observer with its dizzyi9ng asymmetrical design. Wild and misplaced, the man in the left middle ground is clearly the dominant figure in the focal area. The foreground and right side of the piece portrays the dead in their prone posture, mocking the sick and wretched man who lives on. The foreground spills into the background, taunting our perception of reality. The observer is left with an unsettled and anxious feeling, perhaps internalizing the symbolic imbalance of war.

The focal area in this is what you were born for is created largely by Goya’s use of lights and darks. While Goya implements various shades of white and black throughout the piece, the people are defined with sharper contrast. The use of bright white draws the viewer’s eye toward both the dead and the living dead. The plainness of this scheme mimics the uniformity and conformity of war, suggesting that there is no gray area in defining one’s enemy. The contrast creates tension in both a visual and symbolic sense, contributing to the overall disturbing and mysterious mood of the piece.

Through its simplicity, the black and white theme allows lines and shapes to take on a more dominant role in the piece. The lines portray a distinct and perhaps purposeful message to the observer, again reinforcing the tension of the piece. It is interesting to note that the foreground and background of the plate are defined entirely by horizontal lines, while the focal subject is shaped by curves, and the victims by vertical lines. Besides creating the basic shape of these components, the lines reinforce Goya’s symbolic intentions. Since vertical lines tend to create a more “vigorous stability,” as Barnet describes it, they are appropriately applied towards creating images of the dead. Death through violence, after all, is chaotic. Likewise, the horizontal lines of the foreground and background suggest the tranquility of nature, providing symbolic contrast to the warlike living, whose lines curve in compromise.

Perhaps most disturbing and confounding of all is the purposeful vagueness between soldier and citizen, enemy and friend. Goya, through his contrast in art, creates a blur in reality. Ironically, in its simplicity, This is what you were born for is extraordinarily complex in symbolism. Goya forces us to face the fallacies of the glamorized portrayal of war through his own alternative rendering of the topic. The title of the series says it best: while the justifications for war are few, clearly, The Disasters are many.