Tribute of the sword 1869

Curator: Here we have Mariano Fortuny's "Tribute of the Sword," painted in 1869. A striking example of his talent. Editor: It's got that unmistakable whiff of bravado, doesn't it? You can almost hear the roar of the crowd and smell the… well, you know. I find the palette surprisingly muted given the subject. Curator: Fortuny's technique is quite refined, even in this genre scene. Notice how he captures the light—almost theatrical in its drama—across the scene. There's real dynamism in the composition; the eye travels in a complex, almost Baroque fashion from the fallen bull to the triumphant matador. Editor: The impasto in that blood is thick, bordering on uncomfortable, but I admire the contrast between that viscous red and the cool detachment in the figure's celebratory posture. He’s literally holding a fan overhead, doesn’t seem to mind the animal's life, his own brush with death… it is almost callous. Curator: Think about the tradition Fortuny's engaging with. Spanish Romanticism with a decidedly cosmopolitan air. The painting acknowledges the tradition, sure, but subtly questions the whole spectacle through the depiction of that strange moment right after the kill. Editor: And the stadium looms like some absurd ancient amphitheater—society as witness, both participant and voyeur to this very brutal dance. The circularity is an inescapable reminder of inevitability. Curator: And that sense of fate connects so interestingly to the formal qualities. See the way the swirling brushstrokes mimic the movement of the bullfight itself, drawing our focus back into that still-life below… Editor: Fortuny sure makes you contemplate that, the brutal core, doesn't he? Makes me question my romanticism for history and culture. It certainly demands a double-take.