The Second of May 1808
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The Second of May 1808, also known as The Charge of the Mamelukes, is a painting by Spaniard Francisco Goya, companion to The Third of May 1808. Painted in 1814 in the space of two months, today both are displayed in Madrid's Museo del Prado.
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[edit] Background
Goya witnessed firsthand the French occupation of Spain in 1808, when Napoleon used the pretext of reinforcing his army in Portugal to seize the Spanish throne, leaving his brother Joseph in power. King Joseph's attempts to consolidate his power provoked a widespread rebellion on the streets of Madrid. This open uprising occurred between the second and third of May, when suppressed by forces under Maréchal Joachim Murat.
The Second of May 1808 depicts the scene at the beginning of the uprising when the élite Mamelukes of the French Imperial Guard are ordered to charge and subdue the rioting citizens. Instead the crowds saw the Mamelukes as Moors, provoking an angry response. The resulting melee saw both sides fighting in a street battle.
[edit] The Painting
Goya was probably not present during the Charge of the Mamelukes. His supposed presence was first suggested in a book published 40 years after his death, reporting on conversations the author claimed to have had with Goya's gardener. [citation needed] His paintings were commissioned in 1814, after the expulsion of Napoleon's army from Spain, by the council governing Spain until the return of Ferdinand VII. He chose to portray the citizens of Madrid as unknown heroes using the crudest of weapons, such as knives to attack a professional, occupying army. That did not go down well with the king when he returned, and the paintings were not hung publicly until many years (and governments) later.
Goya chose not to paint any single action or to have any single focal point. His dramatically chaotic scene evokes realism or actuality.
[edit] Damage
During the Spanish Civil War, when Madrid was bombed by Franco's troops, the republican government decided to evacuate the paintings from the Prado. A lorry carrying Goya's paintings had an accident, and The Second of May was badly damaged: there were tears and even pieces missing. When the painting was later repaired, some damage was left unrepaired at its left border to remind viewers of the events of the civil war.
