1815-1816, published 1816
Dreadful Events in the Front Rows of the Ring at Madrid and Death of the Mayor of Terrejon (Desgracias Acaecidas en el Tendido de la Plaza de Madrid, y Muerte del Alcalde de Torrejon)
Francisco José de Goya y LucientesSpanish, 1746 - 1828
The danger inherent to the bullfight leaps out of the ring in this record of a tragic event that Goya witnessed in Madrid on June 15, 1801. A bull escaped from the ring into the crowd of spectators, killing two people including a local mayor.
Temporarily blinded by the mayor’s gored body, the animal stands among the chaotic crowd of fleeing figures who appear to topple out of the scene toward the viewer. Several decades before the invention of photography, Goya captured the spontaneity of a freeze-frame moment, placing the viewer in the role of one of the spectators in the stands.
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