Francisco De Goya (1746-1828) - La Tauromaquia Blatt #1 "Modo con que los antiguos espanoles cazaban los toros á caballo en el"

Francisco de GOYA (1746-1828)
La Tauromachia Plate #1 : The way the ancient Spaniards hunted the bull on horseback in the field
Etching, aquatint
Plate size: 480 mm x 350 mm
Image size: 310 mm x 205 mm
Plate #1 was issued in outstanding quality in 1923 (a total of 43 copperplate intaglio prints) by the Hugo Schmidt publishing house (Munich) from Hugo Kehrer. 500 copies were produced.
The plate belongs to the numbered edition No. #178 (see photo). The proof for it is shipped as a copy.
La Tauromaquia is the 3rd major graphic cycle by Goya, created between 1814 and 1816, and illustrates the history of bullfighting in Spain. The first of seven editions appeared initially with 33 plates; seven more plates were added in later editions.
Plates 1 through 12 relate directly to the historical publication on the history of bullfighting by Don Nicolas Fernandez de Moratín (1777/1801).
Plate 1 "Modo con que los antiguos espanoles cazaban los toros á caballo en el campo" translates exactly the wording in Moratín’s text, which states that the Iberians, regarded as wild and clad in furs, hunted and captured the bull in a rough landscape centuries ago. The wild bull was not killed but only captured. (See photos)