The Second of May 1808, also known as The Charge of the Mamelukes, is a painting by the Spanish master Francisco de Goya. It is a companion to the painting The Third of May 1808. Painted in 1814 in the space of two months, today both are displayed in Madrid's Museo del Prado. The action of the painting is placed at Puerta del Sol, Madrid.
Goya witnessed first hand the French occupation of Spain in 1808, when Napoleon used the pretext of reinforci...
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The Second of May 1808, also known as The Charge of the Mamelukes, is a painting by the Spanish master Francisco de Goya. It is a companion to the painting The Third of May 1808. Painted in 1814 in the space of two months, today both are displayed in Madrid's Museo del Prado. The action of the painting is placed at Puerta del Sol, Madrid.
Goya witnessed first hand 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. Attempts to remove members of the Spanish royal family from Madrid provoked a widespread rebellion. This popular uprising occurred between the second and third of May, when suppressed by forces under Maréchal Joachim Murat.
The Second of May 1808 depicts the beginning of the uprising when the elite Mamelukes of the French Imperial Guard are ordered to charge and subdue the rioting citizens. The crowd sees the Mamelukes as Moors, provoking an angry...
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