Matador 1961

LeRoy Neiman’s Matador is a painting built from generous marks of oil paint, a swirl of pinks, reds, yellows, greens, and blues. Imagine Neiman at his easel, his brush loaded with paint, each stroke a bold gesture, laying down this world of bullfighting with the confidence and speed of someone who’s seen it all before. There’s a physicality to Neiman’s paintings. The thick paint creates texture and depth, drawing us into the energy of the bullring. I love the way the colours collide—the hot pink of the cape against the ochre yellow of the matador’s suit. Each brushstroke seems to capture a fleeting moment, a blur of movement. What do you think he was thinking at the time? Neiman's bravura reminds me of other painters like Joan Mitchell or Willem de Kooning, who used abstraction to capture emotional realities. It’s like they’re all in conversation, riffing off each other, pushing the boundaries of what paint can do. And really, that’s what painting is all about, isn’t it? An ongoing exchange of ideas, each artist inspiring the next.