Goya and Cánovas: Art, Politics, and Peace in Spain

Francisco de Goya y Lucientes

Francisco de Goya y Lucientes (Fuendetodos, Zaragoza, March 30, 1746 - Bordeaux, France, April 15, 1828) was a Spanish painter and engraver. His work encompasses easel and mural painting, printmaking, and drawing. In all these facets, he developed a style that inaugurated Romanticism. Goya's art also marks the beginning of contemporary painting and is considered a forerunner of twentieth-century avant-garde painting. Some of his most famous works include: *The Disasters of War*, *La Maja Desnuda*, *The Charge of the Mamluks*, *The Third of May 1808*, and *Saturn Devouring His Son*.

Antonio Cánovas del Castillo

Antonio Cánovas del Castillo (Málaga, February 8, 1828 - Mondragón, Guipúzcoa, August 8, 1897) was a Spanish politician and historian. He was one of the most influential figures in Spanish politics in the second half of the nineteenth century, being the main architect of the Restoration political system and becoming the leader of the Conservative Party. He is considered one of the most brilliant conservative politicians in contemporary Spanish history.

The Cánovas System and the Constitution of 1876

Both parties in Cánovas' system essentially agreed ideologically in a consensual manner and assumed two complementary roles. Stability was favored by the drafting of a new Constitution in 1876, which had a distinctly moderate character. He also contributed to the pacification of the country, which was achieved after the end of the Carlist War in 1876 and the Cuban insurrection with the Peace of Zanjón in 1878.

Concepts of Peace

The following definitions are complete and adequate, because the non-use of arms or bloodshed does not always guarantee the existence of real peace.

• Negative Peace: Absence of war or other armed conflict. This concept of peace presupposes the need for defense and, therefore, legitimizes the existence of armies, armaments, etc.
• Positive Peace: A state of personal and social harmony in which justice and equality become the centerpiece of human relations. This entails eliminating any kind of violence.

Types of Violence

• Direct Violence: A direct and deliberate physical attack that damages the integrity of human life, generating situations of death and destruction.
• Indirect Violence: Involves an attack against well-being or nature caused by human intervention where there is not a direct link between the cause of that attack and the people who are victims of it.
• Repressive Violence: An attack or a violation of human rights that implies depriving people of their freedoms and the annulment of their dignity.