Artwork

Bullfights: The Moors Make a Different Play in the Ring Calling the Bull with the Burnous

Bullfights: The Moors Make a Different Play in the Ring Calling the Bull with the Burnous is a print by the Romanticist artist Francisco Goya. It dates from 1816 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.

About this work

Overview

Francisco de Goya’s 1816 print titled *Bullfights: The Moors Make a Different Play in the Ring Calling the Bull with the Burnous* depicts a dramatic encounter between two figures in traditional Moorish dress and a charging bull. The work is part of the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art and exemplifies Goya’s interest in popular spectacle and cultural diversity.

Subject & Meaning

The image shows two men on the left, one in a flowing white robe clutching a small object, the other in a dark garment topped with a white head covering, confronting a bull that lunges forward with its head lowered and horns aimed outward. The composition suggests a ritualized challenge, highlighting the tension between human bravado and animal force within a Moorish bull‑fighting tradition.

Technique & Style

Executed as a print, the piece employs strong chiaroscuro, with a dark background that isolates the figures and the animal in stark relief. The contrast of light and shadow intensifies the sense of movement and danger, while the linear clarity of the figures reflects Goya’s late Romantic sensibility, emphasizing emotion over precise naturalism.

History & Provenance

Created in 1816, the work entered the holdings of the Cleveland Museum of Art, where it remains on display. Its acquisition reflects the museum’s broader effort to represent European printmaking of the early nineteenth century, and it contributes to the institution’s documentation of Goya’s varied output beyond his more widely known paintings.