# One Can't Tell Why, plate 35 from The Disasters of War

- By: Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (Spanish, 1746-1828)
- Date: 1812/15, published 1863
- Medium: Etching, burnished lavis, drypoint and burin on ivory wove paper with gilt edges
- Classification: Print
- Dimensions: Image: 12.9 × 18 cm (5 1/8 × 7 1/8 in.); Plate: 15.4 × 20.9 cm (6 1/8 × 8 1/4 in.); Sheet: 24 × 34 cm (9 1/2 × 13 7/16 in.)
- Culture: Spain
- Credit line: Gift of J. C. Cebrian
- Museum: [Art Institute of Chicago](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/124882)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/35009d0f-53cc-10bc-4734-b61966622172/full/!1920,1080/0/default.jpg
- Who can see it: Teens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

Eight convicted and garroted victims share a platform. Suspended from cords around their necks and resting against their chests are the weapons they carried when they were arrested by the French army. For Spaniards, being caught carrying a weapon of any kind was a capital offense.

Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0