Francisco Goya's (1746–1828) art bore witness to war and human suffering — across painting, drawing, and printmaking. For Stan, encountering Goya's Disasters of War etchings at the Met was a turning point — it sparked Between the Lines, his own series rooted in World War II experience.

He also made a close visual analysis of The Third of May, studying how Goya transformed historical violence into something that still stops you cold.