Written by Hannah Cerne, UNMAM Graduate Research Assistant and Study Room Assistant.

Elaine de Kooning, collaborating printers Bruce Porter and John Sommers, Taurus IV from Taurus, 1973. Lithograph. 73.86. Photograph by Stefan Jennings Batista.

Artists’ long history of gathering inspiration and influence from bulls and bullfighting reflects the deep cultural and symbolic resonance of the subject matter, appearing in varying ancient art forms to the present day. Artists have painted, printed, drawn, and sculpted bullfighting for hundreds of years, but what features of Elaine de Kooning’s Taurus IV (1973)  make the bull and bullfighting so emotionally compelling to the viewer?

The history of bullfighting is complex and cannot be traced back to just one culture. The family tree of the bull alone has varying theories, however, Rex Smith, author of Biography of the Bulls, states the overwhelming consensus is that the extinct species, the aurochs, predate the bull. In the Neolithic Age, the aurochs roamed Spain, Europe, and Near Eastern countries as large and ferocious animals, reaching up to six feet in height and 2,000 pounds, according to naturalists. The last aurochs’ death was recorded in seventeenth-century Poland. The varying histories of the bull from Ancient Iberia, Rome, Israel, and Mesopotamia all contribute to the diverse traditions and symbolism associated with bullfighting. A theme of life versus death or divine versus human is seen consistently in the varying communities that conducted bull worship and eventual bull spectacles, such as bullfighting.

The origins of bullfighting are a tradition deeply rooted in the animal’s symbolic and cultural histories. The first recorded history of bullfighting takes place in Spain, according to Smith, this is where fierce bullfights existed long before the Romans began the practice. In 1133, the first recorded bullfight took place with the matador on horseback for the coronation of King Alfonso VII in Varea, Spain. Bullfights continued to spread throughout the country and gained further popularity during the reign of King Phillip III (1598-1621) when the canonizations of Saint Teresa, Saint Francis Xavier, and Saint Ignatius were celebrated with bullfights. However, it wasn’t until the early eighteenth century that the first bullfights took place with the matador on foot. Francisco Romero, a significant bullfighter at the time, was the first bullfighter to end a match on foot with the use of a red cape, or muleta, as a drape on his left arm acting as a shield, and a sword in his right hand. The Spanish bullfighting tradition evolved from ceremonial displays to a form of entertainment. Eventually, the bull, despite roaming vast regions of Europe, became a national symbol of bravery and Spanish identity through the tradition of bullfighting. However, traditional bullfighting has recently been outlawed in many cities across the globe, following the recognition of the cruel treatment of animals by animal rights activists and members of various communities. The future of bullfighting continues to develop alongside supporters who hope to keep the tradition alive while respecting the rights of animals.

Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, El Animoso Moro Gazul Es el Primero que Lanceó Toros en Regla, No. 5 from La Tauromaquia, 1816, published 1855. Etching and aquatint. 63.41.

Throughout his career, Spanish artist Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (1746-1828) was fascinated with the bull and the spectacle of bullfighting. About a century after Romero ended his first match on foot, Goya began depicting the cultural tradition in a well-known etchings series titled La Tauromaquia (1816). Goya often represented the social and political turmoil of his life through a wide range of works, including portraits, scenes of war, and depictions of agony and despair. La Tauromaquia, showcases his dynamic ability to capture motion and drama, while also exploring the cultural significance, danger, and spectacle of this deeply rooted Spanish tradition. Born in Spain in 1746, he trained with José Luzan y Martinez, a Spanish painter, in Zaragoza, Spain, as a young boy, and later finished his studies in Rome. Goya began experimenting with etching in 1779, following his employment at the royal tapestry factory early in his career. In 1780, he would become an official member of the Royal Spanish Academy of San Fernando, setting him on track to gain recognition at the highest levels of Spanish society and eventually securing prestigious commissions as a court painter.

The practice of bullfighting would not remain central to Spain and would continue to expand globally by the twentieth century, particularly in Latin American countries such as Mexico, Colombia, and Venezuela. In the late 1950s, Elaine de Kooning (1918-1989), an American artist, witnessed her first bullfights in Mexico during her time as a visiting art professor at the University of New Mexico. De Kooning was introduced to bullfighting by a student turned close friend, Margaret Randall. It was Randall who took de Kooning to her first Sunday morning bull fights at the Plaza Monumental in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, where she drew many quick sketches, gathering every angle of the experience. Before de Kooning explored the southwest as a young woman, she lived in New York, where she was born in Brooklyn in 1918. She was raised in an immersive art scene, attending the Leonardo da Vinci School and the American Artists School, and was later introduced to many artistic influences. De Kooning preferred to compose the male gesture and body and is widely recognized for her portraits of male figures and role models, such as John F. Kennedy. In 1973, de Kooning returned to her sketches of bullfighting and developed a series of lithograph prints published by the Tamarind Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Considering de Kooning’s engagement with the spectacle alongside Goya’s historical influence as a Spanish artist of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, an analysis of her lithograph Taurus IV (1973) from the Taurus series in dialogue with Goya’s El Animoso Moro Gazul Es el Primero que Lanceó Toros en Regla, No. 5 from La Tauromaquia (1816) explores how each artist visually interprets and responds to the theme of bullfighting within their respective historical and stylistic contexts.

Elaine de Kooning, collaborating printers Bruce Porter and John Sommers, Taurus IV from Taurus, 1973. Lithograph. 73.86. Photograph by Stefan Jennings Batista.

De Kooning’s Taurus IV was inspired by her sketchbook drawings from her time in Juárez with Margaret Randall in the late 1950s. De Kooning depicts an abstracted scene of a bullfight with a dark sky, open floor ground, active figures, and a non-representational setting as she plays with the boundaries between figure and setting. Goya freely places the bullfighting scene in an undefined arena, exaggerating the theatricality and psychological tension of the event. The artists’ approaches to each composition set the scenes differently, Goya grounds narration and figuration as a recognizable moment, while de Kooning ignites emotion and motion with a dynamic and gestural approach.

Goya shows the bullfighter riding horseback as he spears the bull, reflecting how the ritual traditionally began. He emphasizes the historical origins of the bullfight, portraying the encounter with a sense of drama and highlighting its violence through the stark contrast between lively figures and dark shadows poised in what appears to be an open arena.

Etching and lithography, although different mediums, are both forms of printmaking popularized by artists’ consistent use of each method to make art more accessible. De Kooning’s use of lithography and collaboration with the  Tamarind Institute allows her to make more painterly expressions and compositions. This is seen in the wide brush strokes which create the dark sky and visual motion of the figures. The vigorous mark-making and layered approach are possible using lithography, which allows the artist to draw directly on the stone. This process creates a gestural quality that captures the immediacy of her motion and the energy of the subjects with sensitivity, a medium suited to her as a painter. Lithography also allows de Kooning to achieve a nuanced range of tones, from a dense black to smoky grays, as she varies her mark-making to create a sense of depth in the composition. Her intentional strokes and marks compose a ghostly bull presence as the figure shifts with de Kooning’s linework, creating movement and a lack of clear boundaries between form and gesture.

Goya’s use of etching and aquatint for the composition, a medium he was quite familiar with as a painter and printer, allows him to make precise mark-making for clear representational imagery. The aquatint adds tonal depth, as seen in the motion of the bull and the shadows of the figures. Although Goya also practiced lithography when it was invented in the late eighteenth century, his choice of etching and aquatint for the La Tauromaquia series allows him to clearly depict his compositions with refined line work and tonal variation, enhancing the realism of the imagery.

Both prints engage with the iconography of the bull in radically different ways, de Kooning through an abstracted scene and Goya with figuration. However, both explore the ritual of bullfighting and the history of the bull. Both artists are successfully depicting the bullfighting ritual and expressing the symbolism and intensity of the encounter with the ritual. Goya with a narrative approach, and de Kooning with an emotional and energetic abstraction. Although some may consider Goya’s traditional depiction of the events more accurate with the use of historical clarity, I believe it is de Kooning who strongly succeeds in evoking an intense emotional experience through her raw but intentional mark-making and visceral interpretation.