No Hay Quien Los Socorra (Nobody Can Help Them)

No Hay Quien Los Socorra (Nobody Can Help Them) by Francisco Goya is a profound Spanish print executed between 1810 and 1820. This work, created during the politically volatile period of 1801 to 1825, utilizes the complex technique of etching and aquatint on wove paper. Goya meticulously enhanced the plate using a burin for sharp linear elements and burnishing to soften tones and modulate the rich darkness of the aquatint ground, showcasing the technical depth required for 19th-century prints.

Goya undertook this series of works as a scathing indictment of the atrocities witnessed during the French occupation of Spain and the subsequent Peninsular War. The composition focuses on figures caught in extremis, their agony magnified by the dramatic chiaroscuro intrinsic to the aquatint process. The resulting somber tonality reinforces the hopelessness suggested by the title, capturing scenes of brutal victimization and the systematic breakdown of civil order characteristic of warfare. The artist’s unflinching portrayal of human cruelty gives the piece lasting resonance as a commentary on conflict.

The choice of printmaking allowed Goya's powerful, often disturbing, imagery to be duplicated, though the sensitive nature of the subject meant full publication of the series was delayed until decades after his death. This particular impression of the work resides within the extensive collection of the National Gallery of Art. Because of the age of the original plates, many high-resolution prints of No Hay Quien Los Socorra are now widely accessible as public domain works, allowing scholars and the public to study the artist’s unsparing social documentation. This piece remains a critical example of Goya’s commitment to artistic truth over idealized representation.