Spain 1952

Robert Frank captured this image of a bull in Spain. He probably had a Leica, as he used for most of his photographs, and standing in the sand in the bullfighting ring, he has captured the bull in between fights. Imagine him there. Frank, watching, waiting for the right moment. Maybe he felt for the animal, or maybe he was just recording it. The bull is pressed against the wooden fence with its head down; it’s a gesture of exhaustion, or is it preparation for the next charge? What was it like to be Frank at that moment? What was he thinking? Is he empathizing with the bull's exhaustion, or is he detached, a mere observer? There is so much going on, and, like life, Frank makes his work more beautiful because of it.