Plate 58 from 'The Disasters of War' (Los Desastres de la Guerra): 'It's no use crying out.' (No hay que dar voces.)

Art Historical Context

Francisco de Goya y Luc, a pioneering Spanish artist of the Romantic era, created *Plate 58: "It's no use crying" (No hay que dar.)* around 1811–12 as part of his seminal series *The Disasters of WarLos Desastres de la)*. This etching captures the brutal realities of theinsular War (180814), Spain's fight for independence against Napoleon's invading forces. Goya, who witnessed the conflict's atrocities firsthand, produced 82 prints to document the unsparing horrors of violence, famine, and human suffering, often without heroic glorification—making the series a raw, unflinching anti-war testament published only after his death. Printed in etching, burnished aquatint, burin, and burnisher on a modest plate (6 × 8 1/16 inches), this proof impression showcases Goya's masterful mixed techniques. Aquatint provides moody tonal depths for emotional intensity, while the burin carves sharp lines, heightening the visceral drama of despair. The title evokes futile pleas amid torment, aligning with tags of male suffering and underscoring war's dehumanizing toll. Housed in The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department (Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1953), this work remains a cornerstone of printmaking history, influencing modern war artists with its unflagging honesty and psychological depth. Visitors, prepare to confront the enduring cry against inhumanity.

About the Artist

Goya (Francisco de Goya y Lucientes) · 1746–1828

Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (1746-1828) was a Spanish painter and printmaker considered the last of the Old Masters and the first of the moderns. Rising from modest provincial origins to become First Court Painter to Charles IV, Goya's career spanned the Enlightenment's optimism and the brutal Napoleonic invasion that shattered it. A mysterious illness in 1793 left him permanently deaf and ...