Francisco de Goya: 'Los Desastres de la Guerra (The Disasters of War)'

July 18, 2008

No artist before or since Goya has depicted the domino-effect devastation that warfare visits upon a land, its people and their moral fiber with such precision, formal invention and pathos. His 80 etchings, made between 1810 and 1820 in response to the French invasion of Spain and the subsequent Spanish War of Independence, are more unblinking and pertinent than ever. It is amazing to see them lining the walls of this simple space, especially given its location in a neighborhood that is now synonymous with shopaholic oblivion.

ROBERTA SMITH