Plate 3 from 'La Tauromaquia': The Moors settled in Spain, giving up the superstitions of the Koran, adopted this art of hunting, and spear a bull in the open
Original title: Plate 3 from " La Tauromaquia": The Moors settled in Spain, giving up the superstitions of the Koran, adopted this art of hunting, and spear a bull in the open
kurzbeschreibung
A man lies flat on the ground, a bull rears up, and a lance thrusts forward. This etching belongs to Francisco de Goya's series 'La Tauromaquia' from 1816. Rendered in shades of grey, the sheet captures a struggle among three men, a bull, and a horse.
Description
At the front left, a man drives his lance into the bull while a second man sprawls on the ground. A third stands off to the side, watching; a horse appears slightly apart. The layout is irregular, and the figures are precisely observed in dress and posture. Shadows and dark passages create an even tonality, while the background remains empty.
Context
Created between 1815 and 1816, the series was published in Madrid in 1816. It recounts the history of bullfighting from the Moors to Goya's own time. Goya, himself a bullfighting enthusiast, took up a national ritual that gained prominence during the Napoleonic Wars and the Restoration. The fact that the Moors adopted the art of hunting points to Spain's cultural mixing.
Impact
Dark contrasts and twisted bodies pull the viewer straight into the action. There is hardly any distance. Because colour is absent, the violence of the moment feels all the more powerful and timeless.
Technique
Etching with burnished aquatint, drypoint, and burin. This produces fine lines for details and soft tones for shadows. The plate measures 24.5 x 35 cm; the paper measures 30.5 x 43.8 cm.
AI-generated description text
Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)