The death of Pepe Illo (Bullfighting F) (preparatory drawing)

See How the ancient Spaniards hunted bulls on horseback in the countryside.

Preparatory drawing for the print The Death of Pepe Illo (Bullfighting F). It is also related to the engravings The Death of Pepe Illo (Bullfighting E) and The Unfortunate Death of Pepe Illo in the Bullring in Madrid, as they deal with the same subject: the death of the bullfighter Pepe Illo in the bullring in Madrid on 11 May 1801.

This drawing, although a preparatory drawing for the above-mentioned print, differs somewhat from it in its rapid strokes and with a large number of figures. In fact, it shows a slightly earlier moment of the bullfighter's death. In this case we see how the bull, with the bullfighter nailed to the horn, appears on the left of the composition, while two figures grab him by the tail to see if he will let go of the master, figures that will disappear in the later engraving. On the right of the drawing we see a picador on horseback with a pike in his hand, heading straight for the bull to whip him and try to get him to release the bullfighter. In contrast to the later print, he is not yet poking the bull.

The light falls on the scene from right to left, illuminating it diagonally. This is a drawing that does not dwell much on the details of the figures, except for the bull, reflected in full movement, and the horse, although in the latter Goya did not make as much of an anatomical study as in the former. The rest of the figures are simply sketched.

Gassier points out that the pathos of the scene is greater in the engraving due to the grouping of the figures in the centre of the composition.