Corrida in Ronda No. 7

Eric Fischl’s Corrida in Ronda No. 7, a masterful example by the artist, was inspired by a series of photographs the artist took during his visits to Ronda in the mountains of southern Spain. The village is venerated as the birthplace of modern bullfighting, and like Goya, Picasso, Hemingway and Bacon, Fischl is fascinated by the controversial Spanish tradition. Here, a colorful group of five matadors surround the black form of the bull; their semicircular arrangement mimics the curve of a shadow in the background, so that the animal appears completely encircled. Although the bull may be lunging at its adversaries, its head is partially hidden, and thus the creature appears submissive. With its rudimentary and formless dark skin rendered in broad brushstrokes and flat colors, this bull appears lifeless, as if it has succumbed to the matadors’ brutal endeavors.
The vibrant and flamboyant figure of the matador is undoubtedly a seductive one for Fischl, as evidenced in his detailed rendering of the embroidery on the bullfighters’ colorful costumes. The artist accentuates how, despite his formal rigidity, the matador must always maintain the pretense of the graceful dance with his fateful opponent. Animals have long been a central theme of Fischl’s oeuvre and in many of his paintings, he has featured numerous animals, particularly dogs, in relation to their human counterparts. In his Corrida paintings, for the first time he depicts the confrontation between humans and animals just as atmospherically. Without compromising the spectacle’s existential intensity, he cracks the shell of the macho, triumphant matador to reveal the figure’s vulnerability within the highly-charged encounter.