The Bulls of Bordeaux

Francisco de Goya, the important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries and pioneer of modern painting, primarily concerned himself with the theme of bullfighting in his late work. As a result of his productive analysis of the new lithographic techniques, he was able to produce wonderful works. The lithography series Toros de Burdeos, The Bulls of Bordeaux, demonstrates Goya’s mastery, even as he approached the age of 80. Powerful animals, agile toreros, and a crowd bursting with excitement make up the content of these four vivid and impressive lithographs!

The Impressive Late Work

Francisco de Goya y Lucientes (1746–1828) produced the series The Bulls of Bordeaux in the year (1824–5) when he was already in his 70’s. Thus a grandiose late work of the great master of Spanish Romanticism came into being. Goya experimented continuously with new techniques, and so too with lithography in the 1820’s. While exiled in Bordeaux, the artist made the acquaintance of the lithographer Cyprien Gaulon, in whose workshop Goya familiarized himself with the new technique.

The Bulls in the Arena

The Toros de Burdeos originated as a series of four lithographs in an edition of ten copies from Gaulon’s print workshop. Goya presented the spectacle of the savage bullfights in the arena. The overwhelming power of the animals and their fury is literally palpable in the expressive depictions. A light-dark contrast underlines the explosively tense mood and the tragic moments. The crowd of spectators at the periphery cheers on the fighters. The four sheets are in landscape format, measure 54.7 x 43.5 cm, and bear the titles The Famous American Mariano Ceballos – a very popular bullfighter from the American colonies, Bravo Toro, Diversion de Espana, and Plaza partida. A sheet shows the moment of a bull’s death, when the bull has already been hit and is surrounded by multiple men with spears. Another sheet presents a group of four bulls in the middle of the depiction, a human figure is trampled under their hooves, the wild crowd of spectators and fighters is on the sidelines with numerous wounded and a some still feeling brave.

A Rare Series

The theme of bullfighting, a very popular theme of European Romanticism and not only in the visual arts, thematically connects the Toros de Burdeos, the The Bulls of Bordeaux, with Goya’s bull-paintings from the same epoch. Supposedly, the sheets were bought anonymously in a small Parisian shop for a small sum. Today, complete collections with all four pages of the series are very rare. The Toros de Burdeos is considered today to be a “primary work of lithography”!