Chapman Brothers – On Account of a Knife, 2003
Jake and Dinos Chapman have created this work by taking an etching done originally by Francisco Goya and basically vandalising/appropriating it. Goya was unable to publicise these etchings at first because they were too controversial for his time. Today these works and works similar in style are still shocking yet they are more widely accepted, because of how our views in art have changed and evolved over the different movements such as modernism in the late 19th century.
The Chapman brother’s works are shocking and are very rebellious in terms of traditional art views and therefore shock even today’s viewers, however this rebellious behaviour in art nowadays, especially contemporary art is no longer such a controversy. If this was done during Goya’s time, it would’ve have been an outrage. Let alone Goya’s collection depicting disasters of war and this piece specifically a priest who was killed as punishment for owning a knife, it is rather dark and shocking. The most shocking factor in my opinion is the choice of replacing the human heads with clown ones and the general concept of vandalising Goya’s work.
On Account of a knife by Jake and Dinos Chapman, 2003, etching painted on.