Plate 25 from the ‘Tauromaquia’: They loose dogs on the bull

Description

A bull faces a pack of dogs in a violent encounter that turns the arena into a space of pursuit and resistance. Francisco Goya’s They Loose Dogs on the Bull concentrates on the unequal pressures of a group surrounding a single animal. The action gains force through the meeting of compact bodies and abrupt changes of direction.

Published in 1816 as plate 25 of La Tauromaquia, the print examines a particular practice within the bullring rather than presenting an idealized spectacle. Etching and burnished aquatint distinguish the animals from their setting while maintaining the urgency of the encounter. The subject places animal vulnerability at the center of the performance. Its intensity comes from the instability of the struggle, where a crowded moment carries the threat of further injury.