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The Colossus

painter: Francisco de Goya (Spanish, 1746-1828)
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Alternative Titles
El coloso
Panic
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/1721.3/23033
Description
With his back turned to the viewer, a giant holds up his threatening, closed fists, provoking the panic and flight of an entire village. Only a donkey in the foreground remains immobile. This work as traditionally been identified with Giant, a print from 1818 with a similar composition. It has been associated with the War for Independence, with the figure of the colossus representing the Pyrenees Mountains, which was the Spaniards' defense against Napoleon's troops. A possible formal model for the large figure is the Hercules Farnesio, a classical sculpture especially admired by Goya that is now in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale of Naples. Technically, the complicated interpretation of the contents, dark palette and the style liken this work to Goya's Black Paintings, although this is a later work.
 
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Type of Work
Oil painting
Subject
Cattle, Donkeys, Giants, Wars, Allegory, Villages, Symbolism in art, Painting, Spanish --19th century
Rights Statement
All rights reserved
Item is Part of
120402
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