Plate 19 of the ‘Tauromaquia’: Another madness of his in the same ring

Description

Tauromaquia Plate 19 by Francisco Goya brings a dramatic encounter into focus. A bull drives toward a draped table as a performer balances above it, arms raised and body bent in readiness. The tablecloth draws the eye from the bull’s lowered head to the precarious figure overhead. Small groups watch from the arena, while a dense band of spectators darkens the upper edge and heightens the exposed feeling of the central action.

Francisco Goya created this episode of La Tauromaquia in 1816. Etching, burnished aquatint, drypoint and burin give the scene a lively variety of line and tone. The unusual staging turns the arena into a theater of nerve and instability, holding the viewer at the moment before the feat unfolds.