In 1862 the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando [San Fernando Royal Academy of Fine Arts] acquired 80 plates from the series Desastres de la guerra [Disasters of War] by Goya. They were printed at the studio of Laurenciano Potenciano a year later, 35 years after the artists’ death (1828).

The etchings belonging to the Fundación MAPFRE Collection are part of the fourth edition which was printed in 1906 at the initiative of the Academy itself. The delicacy and care with which they were printed is noteworthy. An even film of ink is left in order to bring together all the scenes, following the pattern established in the first edition.

In Tristes presentimientos de lo que ha de acontecer [Sad presentiments of what must come to pass] one can observe a man kneeling down and looking up at the sky with his arms open in the shape of a cross. The background is composed of quick strokes. A thick diagonal pattern hints at a monstrous figure that is crouching, foreshadowing the impending drama. The imploring gesture, which appears in other religious-themed works by Goya, suggests that the character is begging for a miracle to spare him the looming catastrophe.