The Rabble Hamstring the Bull with Lances, Sickles, Banderillas, and Other Arms (Un caballero Español en plaza quebrando rejoncillos sin auxilio de los chulos) (plate 12)
Artist
Francisco de Goya
(Spanish, 1746–1828)
Date1816
Mediumetching and aquatint on cream laid paper
Dimensionsplate: 25 x 35.2 cm; sheet: 32.3 x 43.9 cm
ClassificationsPrints
Credit LineSarah C. Garver Fund
Object number1965.28
Label TextWhen La Tauromaquia was first published, bullfighting had been legal in Spain for just five years. The spectacle was decriminalized by the reigning Joseph-Napoléon Bonaparte to demonstrate nationalist sympathy. Then, as now, the morality of bullfighting divided Spaniards. Goya seems to have considered the sport dignified when played by the rules. However, here an unruly mob tries to maim a bull by cutting the suspensory tendons at the back of its legs. Goya emphasized the barbarity of this act by locating this print in his series between images of two honored bullring heroes.ProvenanceCraddock and Barnard, London, UKOn View
Not on view
Jose Guadalupe Posada
1895
