Plate 20 from the ‘Tauromaquia’:The agility and audacity of Juanito Apiñani in [the ring] at Madrid.

Etching, aquatint by Goya (Francisco de Goya y Lucientes)

From 1785 to 1814, the laws regulating bullfighting in Spain were changed four times by succeeding governments. These regulations varied wildly depending on the government’s political bent, ranging from outright prohibition to free admission for all. Due to its politicization, bullfighting became a useful metaphor for societal conflict, which Francisco de Goya employed to obliquely comment on the Spanish body politic. For instance, Goya often pictured the spectators as compositionally divided—either huddled at the right of the print or crowded to the left as in this work—recalling stark divisions in Spanish society.

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