Attaque de la diligence

Goya made this in 1787 for the Duke and Duchess of Osuna, to hang at El Capricho, their country estate on the edge of Madrid. The Duchess was one of the sharpest figures in the city's Enlightenment circles, and she wanted scenes of ordinary Spanish life for her rooms. Ordinary, in this case, meant dangerous. On the roads outside Madrid armed bandits held up coaches often enough that everyone knew the risk, and a few robbers even passed into popular legend. Goya shows the moment at its worst, with a driver already shot and lying still while the thieves turn to bind the surviving passengers. He described the scene plainly himself, down to the officer who had fought back and been killed.