Artwork

Bullfights: The Moors Use Donkeys as a Barrier to Defend Themselves Against the Bull Whose Horns Have Been Tipped with Balls

Bullfights: The Moors Use Donkeys as a Barrier to Defend Themselves Against the Bull Whose Horns Have Been Tipped with Balls 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, Bullfights: The Moors Use Donkeys as a Barrier to Defend Themselves Against the Bull Whose Horns Have Been Tipped with Balls, is part of the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. The work captures a tumultuous moment in a bullfight, rendered in the artist’s characteristic graphic style.

Subject & Meaning

The image portrays a bull charging forward, its horns fitted with spherical caps, while a group of riders on donkeys form a human‑animal barricade. Figures on the ground clutch spears and brandish sticks, suggesting a desperate attempt to control the animal’s fury. The scene conveys the peril and chaos inherent in such spectacles.

Technique & Style

Executed as a print, Goya employs stark chiaroscuro, juxtaposing deep shadows with illuminated forms to heighten the sense of movement. The composition is dense, with cramped figures and a muddied background that amplifies the tension and immediacy of the encounter.

History & Provenance

Created in the early nineteenth century, the print entered the Cleveland Museum of Art’s holdings through acquisition (specific details of the purchase are not recorded in the provided data). It remains a representative example of Goya’s interest in popular entertainments and social commentary.