Shop art print and framed art Dos de mayo by Francisco de Goya

Dos de mayo (full name: El dos de mayo de 1808 en Madrid) or The Charge of the Mamluks is a famous painting by the Spanish painter Francisco de Goya. It forms a diptych with the painting Tres de mayo, which depicts the executions of insurgents by soldiers of the Napoleonic Empire. This painting, painted in 1814, depicts a scene that took place on 2 May 1808 in Madrid, during the Dos de Mayo uprising, a revolt against Joseph Bonaparte, Napoleon Bonaparte's brother. In 1808, Napoleon Bonaparte had occupied Spain in order to invade Portugal, forcing the King of Spain to abdicate his throne and hand it over to his brother Joseph, who subsequently became King of Spain under the name of Joseph I. In this painting, the Spanish patriots are attacking the Mamluks of the Imperial Guard, Egyptian mercenaries fighting alongside the French army. The Spaniards are on the ground, while the French army is on high horseback, further demonstrating the inequality. This revolt was bloodily crushed by the occupying army. Goya did not witness the scene: he painted it based on accounts he had [...]

 

This artwork is a painting from the classical period. It belongs to the romanticism style.

 

« Dos de mayo » is kept at Prado Museum, Madrid, Spain.

 

Find the full description of Dos de mayo by Francisco de Goya on Wikipedia.