A violent melee erupts in the center of a city street, where mounted Mamelukes in turbans and uniforms clash with civilians wielding knives and makeshift weapons. Horses rear and twist amid the chaos, their bodies overlapping and pushing into the crowd, while blood stains the ground beneath fallen figures. At the lower left, a man in blue and red uniform lies dead or dying, his arm outstretched and a curved sword discarded beside him.

A white horse dominates the foreground, its head pulled down by a civilian who thrusts a knife upward, while another man in dark clothing raises his arm to strike. The Mamelukes, identified by their distinctive turbans and curved scimitars, are locked in close combat with the citizens, who attack from all sides. Faces contort in fear, rage, and pain, with some figures recoiling or falling, and others lunging forward in desperate resistance.

Light falls unevenly across the scene, highlighting the white horse and the central figures, while the edges recede into shadow and murk. Goya uses rapid, expressive brushstrokes to capture the tumult, with loose lines and blurred contours conveying the confusion and violence of the moment. The palette is dominated by earth tones, ochres, reds, and greys, punctuated by the white of the horse and the flashes of red blood.

The composition is densely packed, with no single focal point, emphasizing the chaos and collective struggle rather than individual heroism. Small details, such as the glint of a scimitar, the patterned saddlecloth, and the torn clothing, add to the sense of immediacy and disorder. Francisco Goya painted The Second of May 1808 in 1814, depicting the uprising of Madrid's citizens against the Mamelukes of the French Imperial Guard. According to the Museo del Prado, the painting shows the moment when the crowd, instead of dispersing, turns on the charging Mamelukes, sparking a brutal street battle.

The Museo del Prado notes that the painting suffered significant damage during the Spanish Civil War and underwent restoration after its return to Madrid.