El torero 2003

Enrique Grau made this painting, El Torero, without specifying when, and it’s a piece where the paint feels both precise and intuitive. Look closely at the bullfighter's jacket – it’s swimming in detail, almost vibrating with gold, sitting against the purple. Then there’s that shadow puppet of a bull’s head looming in the background. It’s playfully sinister, like a child’s game turned serious. Grau’s brushwork is smooth but you can feel the hand of the artist. The sword in his hand is painted so sharply against the loose, dreamlike way he’s depicted the rest of the scene. It’s this contrast, this kind of visual hiccup, that gives the painting its tension. It reminds me of Manet, who also knew how to balance the real with the unreal, the immediate with the timeless. It's like Grau is having a conversation with art history, and we're invited to eavesdrop.