Сorrida 1860

Gustave Doré made this engraving, titled "Corrida," sometime in the 19th century. Engraving is a printmaking technique, where an image is incised into a metal plate, often copper, and then printed. Doré was a prolific and popular artist, and his chosen medium made his art widely accessible. Unlike painting or sculpture, which create unique objects, engraving allowed for the mass production of images. Consider the labor involved: Doré himself would have spent hours meticulously carving the lines of the image, and then printers would have made countless impressions of the plate, and sold as book illustrations. This reproductive capacity mirrors the spectacle of the bullfight itself, which was a form of mass entertainment. The scene captures the intensity of the arena, with the matador, horse, and bull locked in a deadly dance. In both the artistic practice and the subject depicted, we see the mechanics of spectacle, labor, and consumption intertwined. Recognizing engraving as a medium connected to both artistic skill and industrial processes helps us move beyond simplistic distinctions between fine art and other forms of visual culture.