A fabulous etching with aquatint and drypoint by Francisco de Goya y Lucientes (1746-1828) from La Tauromaquia series . This is plate 27- 'El celebre Fernando del Toro, barilarguero, obligando a la fiera con su garrocha' ("The celebrated picador Fernando del Toro, draws the fierce beast on with his pique."). A rich impression on laid paper. Modern frame .
Details
The third of Goya’s print series reflects the contemporary debate on the legitimacy of bullfighting and charted a history of the sport from antiquity to Goya’s own day, encompassing Spain under Muslim rule, the medieval period and the Renaissance. To illustrate the 18th century, Goya chose well known figures in the bullfighting world as here with this picador. The etching offers an expressive confrontation of forces; the mass of the dark bull opposing the horse’s white chest, and the animal’s sharp horns against the lance held by the picador. In their apparent disinterest, the spectral figures in the background imply the routine nature of death in the bullring. The preparatory red chalk drawings for the series are in the Prado, Madrid
c.f. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 21.19.27
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