Un caballero espanol en plaza quebrando rejoncillos sin auxilio de los chulos (A Spanish Mounted Knight in the Ring Breaking Short Spears without the Help of Assistants) by Francisco Goya, created in 1816, is a powerful example of the Spanish master’s profound engagement with graphic arts during the turbulent 1801 to 1825 period. This impression, likely from the first edition of the portfolio it belongs to, showcases Goya’s sophisticated handling of demanding printmaking techniques. The artist expertly combined etching, burnished aquatint, drypoint, and burin to achieve a complex interplay of deep shadows and dramatic highlights, essential for conveying the atmosphere of the bullring.
The subject matter depicts a moment of high drama and traditional skill: a mounted knight, or caballero, confronts the bull alone in the plaza. The title emphasizes the difficulty of the feat by noting that the knight breaks the short spears (rejoncillos) without the aid of assistants (sin auxilio de los chulos), a requirement of strict classical rejoneo. Goya uses the medium to underscore the intensity and danger of the event, capturing the force of the charge and the skill required of the horseman.
This celebrated work belongs to a larger series dedicated to the history and evolution of the Spanish bullfight, a subject of intense cultural importance to Goya and his contemporaries. The composition is characterized by swift, dynamic lines rendered through the drypoint, contrasting with the expansive, velvety tones created by the aquatint. Un caballero espanol en plaza quebrando rejoncillos sin auxilio de los chulos stands as a key prints masterwork, demonstrating Goya’s capacity to turn popular spectacle into high art. This historic Spanish piece is now held in the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Art, providing invaluable documentation of Goya’s late career achievements.
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