They avail themselves (Se aprovechan)

In the countryside, in broad daylight, two French soldiers are stripping the clothes from the dead bodies of some Spaniards recently killed in battle. In front of a large tree lies another, already stripped corpse and in the background, on the left-hand side, we can see two other figures, also perhaps engaged in this same task. Goya has skilfully depicted the anatomies of the corpses, which stand out thanks to the accuracy with which they are rendered and the brightness of the white paper showing through.

Situations of this type must have been relatively common during the war. It is the moment in which the fallen are plundered for their material belongings and, simultaneously, utterly deprived of their dignity. In this instance, just as we can see in other etchings in the series, the natural surroundings are inhospitable and arid. The tree placed in the centre of the composition has provided no shelter for the bodies of the fallen Spaniards, and its sharp, jagged shapes only serve to heighten the sensation of horror.

Enrique Lafuente Ferrari relates this etching to a number of others in the series, all featuring piles of dead bodies, such as no. 12, This is what you were born for, nº 18, Bury them and keep quiet, nº 21, It will be the same, no. 22, All this and more, no. 23, The same elsewhere, no. 27, Charity, no. 48, A cruel shame!, no. 62, The deathbeds and no. 63, A collection of dead men.