A torero placing banderillas into the bull's shoulders while two men stand behind the bull
ca 1890–1910
Medium
Zincograph
Dimensions
Sheet: 3 3/4 × 5 3/8 in. (9.5 × 13.7 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1946
Accession Number
46.46.416
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the electrifying scene of *A Torero Placing Banderillas into the Bull's Shoulders while Two Men Stand Behind the Bull*, Mexican printmaker José Guadalupe Posada captures the raw intensity of a bullfight. Created around 1890–1910, this zincograph depicts a matador boldly thrusting barbed sticks into the bull's shoulders—a pivotal moment in the corrida that weakens the animal and heightens the drama. Two assistants stand poised behind, ready to intervene, embodying the high-stakes teamwork of this traditional spectacle. Posada, a master of Mexico's popular print tradition, was renowned for h...
About the Artist
José Guadalupe Posada · 1852–1913
José Guadalupe Posada (1852-1913) was a Mexican printmaker and engraver who revolutionized popular art and created some of the most iconic images in Mexican culture. Working primarily with publisher Antonio Vanegas Arroyo, he produced over 20,000 images during his career—inexpensive broadsheets sold for a penny on colored paper that made his art accessible to even the poorest workers. He transform...