Eugenio Lucas Velázquez Madrid 1817-1870

Martin Collection, Madrid
Purchased by the present owners from the above in 1992

José Manuel Arnaiz, Eugenio Lucas, Su Vida y su Obra, Madrid, 1981, p. 352, no. 122 & p. 354,  no. 123, illustrated

(1) The canvas has been relined. There appear to be a few scattered retouchings though a proper reading of this is hindered by a fluorescing varnish. There are signs of craquelure throughout the work. The varnish layer has discoloured slightly over time. Held in a simple gilt wood frame. (2) The canvas has been relined. There are some old retouchings towards the lower right corner and a few further retouchings elsewhere though a fluorescing varnish hinders a proper reading of this. There are signs of craquelure throughout the work, notably just to the right of the bull (visible in the catalogue illustration). The varnish has discoloured slightly over time. Held in a simple gilt wood frame.
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Profoundly influenced by Francisco Goya, Lucas's paintings are after two of Goya's preparatory drawings for his print series La Tauromaquia (The Art of Bullfighting), published in 1816 and representing thrilling moments of the bullfights of Goya's own day (see Pierre Gassier and Juliet Wilson, Goya His Life and Work, London, 1971, nos. 1212 & 1213 and 1237 & 1238). Thirty-three plates were originally published, including Banderillas de fuego; five further plates, among them Mariano Ceballos, remained unpublished.