Plate 13 of "La Tauromaquia": A Spanish mounted knight in the ring breaking short spears without the help of assistants
Original title: Plate 13 of "La Tauromaquia": A Spanish mounted knight in the ring breaking short spears without the help of assistants
kurzbeschreibung
The thirteenth plate from Francisco de Goya's etching series 'La Tauromaquia' dates to 1816. It shows a Spanish rider in the bullring breaking two short spears without help from assistants. A bull with lowered horns charges toward him. The image is executed as an etching with aquatint, drypoint, and burin on paper.
Description
A horseman sits on a horse that moves with lively energy. He holds two short spears in his hands as he performs a turn. Before him, the bull rushes forward with its head down and horns clearly visible. Behind a wall, spectators watch the action. The grayscale tones and fine lines, along with the shading, give the figures and setting a sculptural quality. The layout is dynamic and directs the eye entirely to the action in the foreground.
Context
Goya created the 'La Tauromaquia' series between 1815 and 1816, in the years following the Spanish War of Independence, a time of political upheaval. The 33 plates cover various forms of bullfighting from antiquity to the 18th century. Goya himself was a bullfighting enthusiast and drew on experiences from his youth in Madrid. In 1816, the etchings were published in an edition of 320 copies.
Impact
The print unleashes an immediate drama and captures the movement of horse, rider, and bull with precision. The aquatint creates soft tonal transitions that lend the scene an almost elegant calm despite the violence. The viewer feels directly transported into the action, without losing the historical distance.
Technique
Etching, aquatint, drypoint, and burin were combined for this plate. The aquatint was burnished in places to achieve nuanced gray tones, while drypoint and burin provide fine details and sharp contours. The paper size is 30.5 × 43 cm (sheet) and 24.8 × 35.5 cm (plate), which is typical for a print series of this period.
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Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public Domain (CC0 1.0)