ASSAULT ON THE EYES NORTON SIMON EXHIBIT PUTS VIOLENCE IN A HISTORICAL CONTEXT.

Byline: Linda Hutchinson Staff Writer

IMAGES OF WAR and conflict have become commonplace on the pages of newspapers and in magazines. But artists of the past have long tried to depict and comment on such struggles in various media.

For instance, Spanish painter Francisco de Goya chronicled his nation's fight against Napoleon's invading armies in perhaps his most famous work, ``The 3rd of May 1808 in Madrid: The Executions on Principe Pio Hill,'' which hangs in the Prado in that city.

But - almost like a photojournalist - Goya also did a series of etchings, which have been turned into posters, telling the tale of the Spanish resistance. The series, called ``The Disasters of War,'' is part of the Norton Simon exhibit that opened Friday, ``To Do Battle: Conflict, Struggle and Symbol in Art.''

Endi Poskovic, an associate professor of fine arts and director of the printmaking and graphic-arts programs at Whittier College, notes that the images are ``very graphic.'' ``(Goya) did the series right on the spot; rather than after the fact ... He probably witnessed the scenes he portrayed and that's what made them so extraordinary.''

The drawings were originally bound as a small book.

``Many artists, historically speaking, have attempted to deal with the subject of war ... the problem is when you have such a complex theme, violence ... it's hard to make it descriptive,'' Poskovic said.

Compared to other works in this show, Goya's etchings hold little back.

``They show the brutality,'' says Norton Simon curator Gloria Williams. ``These are not meant to be seductive. It's a modern vision of war.''

A strong component of the exhibition is the selection of works from all points around the globe. Williams has chosen Grecian urns, Dutch paintings, stone figures from India, drawings on paper from France and more.

Williams says that, to her knowledge, there is not one culture in which images of conflict and struggle haven't been depicted in art. ``It's like death and taxes, in a way,'' she says.

Within the confines of the three-part exhibit space, Williams has divided the rooms even further into six smaller-themed spaces. The first space introduces the viewer to war icons and symbols. A section across the room contains works that display humans vs. animals.

The third section deals with the struggle between men and women. Highlights in this room include Jan Van Bijlert's iconoclastic ``Man in Armor Holding a Pike''; ``The Rape of Proserpina'' (Rape of the Sabine Woman) by Jean Boulogne; and a bullfighting series, ``La Tauromaquia,'' by Goya.

The second room is divided between works that display depictions of war, and struggles between good and evil. There is a dramatic balance drawn between two large-scale works, Guido Cagnacci's elaborate ``Martha Rebuking Mary for Her Vanity'' (Allegory of Vice and Virtue) and Luca Giordano's ``A Battle Scene.''

``From the 15th century on,'' says Williams, ``these battle scenes, in addition to the narrative, were often a challenge for the artist to come to grips with representing a battle, with all the struggling bodies, the grimacing faces, the rising and falling horses ... the chaos.''

Also highlighted are 11th-century Indian sculptures, which display the many forms of the Hindu god Vishnu, who changes form to vanquish evil.

The final gallery section offers works that reveal the after-effects of war and conflict: the loss of shelter, food and life. Here is where one finds Goya's posters along with Jacques Callot's small but detailed ``Les Grandes Miseres de la Guerre,'' which illustrates how these works of art also work as narrative.

``The whole exhibition is about the storytelling power of the art,'' says Williams. ``The artist gives voice to the pictorial.''

TO DO BATTLE: CONFLICT, STRUGGLE AND SYMBOL IN ART

Where: The Norton Simon Museum, 441 W. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena.

When: Noon to 6 p.m. Monday and Wednesday through Sunday, noon to 9 p.m. Friday; through July 8.

Tickets: $3 to $6. [phone]; www.nortonsimon.org

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) ``Man in Armor Holding a Pike,'' by Jan Van Bijlert

(2 -- color) ``Terrifying Form of Shiva,'' bronze sculpture by Tami Nadu