Underground Media Publishing's Recent Release on 13 Masterpieces Sheds New Light on Famous Painting in Madrid's Prado Museum

Madrid, Spain, January 08, 2016 --(PR.com)-- Francisco de Goya’s The Third of May 1808, now showcased in the Prado in Spain stands nearly nine feet high, is over twelve feet wide and is covered in broad patches of black. Although often displayed by itself, the work has a companion piece of the same size which hangs next to it in the Spanish capital city. Combined, the works create a short narrative documenting the atrocities committed in the Spanish resistance to Napoleon’s invasion during the Peninsular War. The two works with their revolutionary style, tone and content are arguably the first modern masterpieces of artwork depicting formal conflict and still serve as lasting archetypal images of the horrors of war to this day.

According to Maenius - "The Third of May 1808 is one of the most iconic images of war and rebellion ever produced. It is an execution. It is a martyrdom. A condemned man is dressed in a pure white blouse—staged in a Christ-like pose with arms extended to the sky as a monk bows by his side in prayer. The emotional display on the left of the canvas is contrasted on the right by a sort of cold, machine-like automation represented by the French firing squad. Their rifles are outstretched in unison with the steely blades of the bayonets extending out to-wards their mark. At their feet lies a yellow and white box of light, illuminating the Spanish martyr and placing a particular focus on what is about to happen. Traditionally in art, light has been used as a symbol of the good and the divine, however Goya turns tradition on its head here using it as a modern mechanism of destruction. To bring the point home, Goya places the mark of the stigmata on the outstretched palm of the condemned man—to ensure the viewer didn’t get the analogy to the martyrdom of Christ."

Maenius - a writer and director born in Texas and now living in Los Angeles states that this work marks a change in the landscape of painting forever - "the brutal realism, dark symbolism and most of all the primal emotions that Goya successfully conveys in his paintings set him and his work apart from his predecessors. Accordingly, Goya is the last of the old masters and the first of the new – and this is arguably his greatest, most influential work. This piece would inspire future masters as in the case of Edouard Manet’s Execution of Emperor Maximilian and Picasso’s epic war painting Guernica—recounting the horrors of war in 20th century Spain."