This week our entry is short and sweet:
“Friar Pedro Shoots El Maragato as his Horse Runs Off,” by 18th/19th
century Spanish painter Francisco de Goya.
This is a painting of a friar calmly
shooting a man in the butt at point-blank range. I really have very little to add.
However, as that makes for an awfully short
post, here is another picture with a friar theme! I came across it during my recent journey to
Los Angeles in the El Pueblo area. It
was unlabelled so I do not know the title or artist.
I DO know that it depicts this nightmare I
have every time I open a book that a baby (or adult dwarf?) in a diaper and
cape will leap forth and attempt to poke my eyes out. Because you never know where anti-learning
babies are hiding.
Not every day do you see a monk calmly taking the butt shot. This wasn't even a miss. What form of penance is this for the man who seems to be pushing his butt out to accept the lead. Oh wait, that sounded even weirder than the picture!
ReplyDeleteIt kind of looks like the hair on the guy being shot is sticking on end, like he's in a cartoon and surprised. I would be surprised too if a monk shot me in the behind.
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ReplyDeleteSorry about that - Well, I have something to add: You shoot someone in the butt at point-blank range, his butt would explode. Now, where's the exploding butt, unless this painting shows that split second right before impact because rifles were kind of slow at the time. Could that be it? ;)
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the blog! Really this could be a great series of paintings, first with the friar loading the gun, then this one with the shot, and finally the exploding butt. High art right there.
DeleteA shot in the arse is rarely fatal, so the priest might have been performing an act of compassionate self-defence. The best defence against the book-homunculus might be tipping him on the floor.
ReplyDeleteI agree, although I worry that the cape means he has super powers and can fly, negating the floor-tipping strategy.
DeleteHow peculiar. Who on earth would want to hang such a thing on their wall? I much prefer Goya's later "Knife to the kneecaps" series.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, his "Intestines Nailed to a Tree" fresco was also a bit more eye-catching.
DeleteYeah, at least it was Super Baby and not a run of the mill baby.
ReplyDeleteTo be fair, even regular babies have projectile vomit and sonic scream super powers.
DeleteSince when do friars carry guns? I know I've never met one who is that badass.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you just haven't crossed one yet...I try very hard not to anger any friars, because you do not want to KNOW the things they're capable of.
Delete"Friar Pedro Shoots El Maragato as his Horse Runs Off" I like how these painting titles are always so vague and abstract.
ReplyDeleteYeah, they really liked to be subtle and illusive.
DeleteThat Friar is awfully focussed on that guy's butt. And it's not even a nice butt!
ReplyDeleteIn 19th century Spain, friars could not afford to be choosy about the butts they focused on. Not like today, where there is a large butt selection available.
DeleteCertain archaic laws regarding self defence are still in force today and this classic painting by Goya is an example of a good citizen doing his duty, but within the constraints of the law. In Angola, for example, I was recently assured by the local Chief of Police that it would be perfectly legal for me to shoot anyone trespassing on my property, but only in an extremity. Sometimes meanings can be lost in translation, after all I am aged Englishman with a grasp of Portuguese sufficient only to ensure I neither starve or die of thirst but through perseverance, together we established the difference between 'in an extremity' and ' in extremis'. I was a pretty good shot in my day and could hit a running bandit at two hundred paces but, ‘in extremis’, expecting me to hit an advancing assailant in ‘an extremity’, such as a knee cap, is asking rather a lot so a good arse shot is possibly the best compromise. Clearly, this Friar was not only law abiding, he was capable of rational thought under stress.
ReplyDeleteI am now busy practicing saying, ‘Halt or I shoot!’ and ‘Hands up and turn around!’ in Portuguese so I get a clear bum shot. Given that there is a ‘No Ground Game’ rule in force for shooting over my land, I am also practicing, ‘Jump as high as you can!’ in Pork and Cheese so that I do not set a bad example to my gamekeepers.
The second painting is clearly a diagram to accompany an early patent application for an automatic page turning device.
These are very important phrases to learn in any language for self-defence. If the jumping doesn't work you can always try to chase them into a tree.
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