Dutch artist Ronald Ophuis is best known for his paintings portraying acts of physical, sexual, and psychological violence. Recurring ordinary elements, such as changing rooms and the football clothing, place the violence staged by Ophuis in our own familiar world. The focus is mainly directed to the perpetrators. This way, the viewers happen to find themselves in a disturbing and uncomfortable position: they cannot follow, or identify with, the moral position implicated by the paintings. Ophuis’ work follows the tradition of ‘history painting’, in the wake of masters (like Édouard Manet and Francisco Goya). Yet, in Ophius’ work, it is not easy to understand if the painter celebrates or condemns the violence. One of his most recent series, ‘Teatro La Tregua’, brings to life a series of scenes in which a group of clowns, intermediaries of the war tragedy, play the central role.