Plate 21 from the ‘Tauromaquia’: Dreadful events in the front rows of the ring at Madrid and death of the mayor of Torrejon

Description

In Dreadful events in the front rows of the ring at Madrid and death of the mayor of Torrejon, the boundary between arena and audience has broken down, and spectators become participants in a terrifying disturbance. Francisco Goya’s Dreadful Events in the Front Rows of the Ring at Madrid depicts the incident associated with the death of the mayor of Torrejon. The scene turns the supposed safety of watching into sudden exposure to danger.

Plate 21 of La Tauromaquia, published in 1816, gives the bullring a very different character from scenes of accomplished technique. Etched lines and broad tonal passages organize the confusion without reducing its force. The contrast between the open arena and the crowded spectators makes the disaster especially unsettling. Goya’s interest lies in that collapse of distance, when entertainment becomes catastrophe and the people at the margins can no longer remain observers.

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