Francisco Goya: The Painter Who Exposed Napoleon

In 1808, Napoleon Bonaparte installed his brother on the Spanish throne, triggering a brutal war of resistance. The French response was mass execution on May 3, 1808—a dark day in Spanish history that inspired Francisco Goya’s greatest masterpiece. Deaf, disillusioned, and persecuted by the Spanish Inquisition, Goya transformed from a royal court painter into a revolutionary maste