Que Valor! (What courage!), Plate 7 of The Disasters of War
About this artwork
This print is notable among Goya’s ‘Disasters of War’ etchings as being one of the few to depict a well known event. It shows the heroism of a woman named Augustina Zaragoza (also known as Agustina de Aragon) during the 1808 Napoleonic siege of Saragossa. She is shown standing on the bodies of fallen Spanish artillerymen as she fires a canon at the French army. Her white dress stands out in stark contrast to the darkness of the canon and bodies. Augustina is said to have leapt to the defence of the city when she realised that the Spanish militia had been killed or too badly injured to fight, and according to legend she took the match to light the canon from the hand of a dead soldier. Her courage was renowned throughout Spain, and she was credited with having repelled the French army, on that occasion at least.
Updated before 2020
-
artist:Francisco de Goya (1746 - 1828) Spanish
-
title:Que Valor! (What courage!), Plate 7 of The Disasters of War
-
date created:Etched about 1809 - 1814; published 1863
-
materials:Etching, aquatint, drypoint, burin and burnisher on paper
-
measurements:Plate mark: 15.50 x 21.00 cm
-
object type:
-
credit line:Purchased 1967
-
accession number:P 2704.19
-
gallery:
-
subject:
Francisco de Goya
Francisco de Goya
Goya, born in Fuendetodos, Zaragoza, Spain, was an original and enigmatic artist, equally gifted as a painter and printmaker. His appointment in 1786 as painter to the Spanish King Charles IV followed a period in Madrid where he had moved from the north east of Spain. Goya's reputation was built on...