Bullfights: A Horse Thrown by the Bull

Executed as a black-and-white etching with aquatint, the work uses deep shadows and stark highlights to heighten emotional intensity. Goya’s loose, urgent lines and textured tonal areas convey motion and disorder. The absence of color intensifies the grim atmosphere, while the composition directs focus to the horse’s twisted form, isolating it against a void-like background.

This print belongs to Goya’s series 'Tauromaquia,' published in 1816, which chronicles the history and rituals of bullfighting. It was produced during his later years, after he had withdrawn from public life and turned toward darker, more personal themes. The Cleveland Museum of Art acquired the print in the 20th century as part of its broader collection of Spanish graphic art.

Goya created this work amid political and social upheaval in Spain, following the Peninsular War and the restoration of absolutist rule. His depictions of bullfighting were not mere entertainment but reflections on violence, power, and spectacle in society. The series diverged from romanticized portrayals common in his time, offering instead an unflinching, almost documentary gaze.

The 'Tauromaquia' series, including this print, influenced later artists in their treatment of violence and the grotesque. Goya’s unembellished approach to the bullfight broke from academic traditions and prefigured modernist concerns with raw human experience. The work remains a key example of how art can confront cultural rituals with moral ambiguity.