TJURFÄKTNINGSSCEN 1934

Curator: Look at this 1934 watercolour by Gösta Adrian-Nilsson, entitled "TJURFÄKTNINGSSCEN." What springs to mind when you first see it? Editor: It’s unsettling. The earth tones lend it a certain flatness, but the composition is dynamic. Everything seems to be suspended mid-fall, full of contained aggression and tension. Curator: The title refers to a bullfighting scene, which is evident in the imagery, but it seems to subvert our expectations of that scene. It uses the visual vocabulary to critique power. Think about the bull pierced with arrows. Is it just the subject of spectacle, or is it symbolic of something more? Editor: The stylisation pushes it into abstraction, creating symbolic layers. The colours enhance this; red is symbolic of violence but also vitality, clashing against the tan to convey raw emotions stripped of refinement. Notice the geometric shapes throughout – even the bullfighter’s garb looks constructed rather than worn. Curator: That geometric treatment connects it to earlier avant-garde movements such as Cubism, with the fragmented forms adding to the disruption of narrative. It pulls away from conventional depictions and allows the painting to express the inherent brutality through disjointed forms. This is the point! Look at the red cape—it doesn't shield but becomes part of the ensemble of violence against the bull. Editor: The flatness emphasizes that it isn't trying to mimic reality, drawing our focus instead to the visual metaphors and the interplay of the colours and form. It reminds us that the symbol transcends simple narrative. Curator: And that’s what makes it resonate beyond the immediate spectacle, as a mirror to larger themes of domination. It suggests our enduring fascination with the dance of dominance and subjugation across different domains of human life. Editor: I’m struck by how it blends cultural traditions into something raw and modern. A re-framing, really, into something universal. Curator: Exactly, stripping bare the spectacle allows us to recognise the primal energy.