New Goya exhibition traces links between his art and modern war photography

A new exhibition of art from the Spanish master Francisco Goya is on show at the Instituto Cervantes, Delhi.

Called Chroniclers of All Wars: The Disasters and War Photography, the exhibition showcases Goya's detailed etchings and drawings of the horrors of war.

They are seen as a precursor to modern war photography in two ways. Firstly, the technical aspect of his printed etchings used the same material as that of modern photography, and secondly, similarities were made with the photographs captured by modern day war photographs.

As such, the exhibition also includes a series of black and white photographs that were taken almost a hundred years after Goya passed away.

Interestingly, the title given to this series of images – The Disasters of War – was not the actual title recorded on the front of the photobook of the original proofs. The handwritten title actually read – translated – Fatal consequences of Spain's bloody war with Bonaparte, and other emphatic caprices.

These are the only known recorded thoughts penned by Goya about this specific series of work.