The works are singularly disturbing and macabre, conveying the artist’s outrage at the death and destruction of war.

Visitors can feel the absurdity of violence and the savagery of men at war through prints such as the “With or Without Reason,” “Why?” or “One Cannot Look at This.”

The pictures were brought to Vietnam by German-American Fine Art Ph.D. and collector Hans Guggenheim, who became an ardent fan of Goya after being introduced to the Spanish artistby his literature professor in 1950.

Guggenheim has spent a lot of time and money collecting Goya’s works, especially “The Disasters of War.”

He said he wanted to display the pictures in Vietnam to raise awareness of the consequences of war which are still present in the country.

Guggenheim said he would give 34 prints to the Vietnam Fine Art Museum after the exhibition finishes.

When asked why he didn’t keep the precious pictures for himself instead of displaying them and giving them away, Guggenheim said a work of art must connect people and create a sense of faith, hope and even fear. Only by being shown to public could the artwork fulfill that purpose, he said.

The doctor said he hoped young Vietnamese artists could learn something about the value of human beings through the prints.

Francisco Jose de Goya y Lucientes (1746– 1828) is considered the first of the modern artists.

He was a court painter for the Spanish Crown and a chronicler of history. The subversive and subjective element in his art, as well as his bold handling of paint, provided a model for the work of later generations of artists, notably Edouard Manet and Pablo Picasso.

One of Goya’s best known paintings is the oil on canvas “The Nude Maya” painted in around 1799.

The works in “The Disasters of War” collection were made between 1810 and 1820. It is considered one of the most powerful anti-violence messages thanks to the realistic and provocative depiction of terror and war’s consequences.

The event is co-organized by the US Embassy, the Spanish Embassy and the Indochina Art Partnership.

The works are on display until November 11 at the Vietnam Fine Art Museum, 66 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street, Ba Dinh District.

The Goethe Institute, located at 56-58 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street, will also host a talk today by Hans Guggenheim, who will discuss the connection between Goya and German legendary author Johann Wolfgang Goethe.

Reported by Y Nguyen