Spanish Entertainment from the 'Bulls of Bordeaux'
Goya (Francisco de Goya y Lucientes) Spanish
Publisher Cyprien Charles Marie Nicolas Gaulon French
Not on view
Goya’s Bulls series reflects the profound transformation in bullfighting in the early nineteenth century. While his 1816 Tauromaquia synthesized the evolution of bullfighting from its origins until about 1800, this series was a tragicomic response to the spectacle’s decline in quality. The frequent staging of comic and amateur corridas in the same sessions as serious, professional bullfights compromised the gravity of Spain’s proud tradition. Made for French audiences, Spanish Entertainment hints at a Romantic identification of bullfighting with Spain. Yet, as the work of an artist living in semi-exile because of the political situation at home, it may also reflect his disillusionment with the masses, presented here as an irrational crowd.
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