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They play another with the cape in an enclosure, Plate 4 of La Tauromaquia
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They play another with the cape in an enclosure, Plate 4 of La Tauromaquia 1816
In the series of prints called La Tauromaquia, Goya illustrated the origins, development and significance of the art of bullfighting in Spanish society. This print is at the beginning of the sequence, and shows Moorish bullfighters in a bullring. The Moors were the medieval inhabitants of the Iberian Peninsula, and were believed to have introduced bullfighting to the country, which developed into a sport from the skills required to hunt for food. Goya showed the fighter practicing a technical movement that was well recognised in the modern bullfighting arena, while the seated man on the right appears to be taunting the bull. In the background, Goya included some faint heads of the spectators. The audience was given greater prominence later in the sequence of prints.

Glossary Open

Drypoint

A printmaking technique that uses a needle to etch an image directly onto a copper plate. The resulting raised surface, or burr, which holds the ink used in the printmaking process produces a soft, velvety effect.

Etching

A form of printmaking in which a metal plate is covered with a substance called a 'ground', usually wax, into which an image is drawn with a needle. Acid is applied, eroding the areas of the plate exposed but not the areas covered by wax. The action of the acid creates lines in the metal plate that hold the ink from which a print is made when the plate is pressed against paper under pressure.

Print

An image pressed or stamped onto paper or fabric. This encompasses a wide variety of techniques, usually produced in multiples, although one-off prints, known as monoprints, are also included. The term is also applied to photographic images.

Drypoint, Etching, Print

Details

  • Acc. No. GOYA.111
  • Medium Etching, burnished aquatint, drypoint and burin on paper
  • Size 24.50 x 35.00 cm
  • Credit Purchased 1980

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