The butterfly bull. Fiesta in the air. They fly and fly
1825 - 1828.Not on display
This drawing brings together several recurring themes found in his work: the impossible dream of flying, the duality of the bullfighting world between the festive and the tragic, and the scenes of absurdity. With its legs spread out awkwardly and unstable, gifted with light butterfly wings and a visible penis, the bull hangs in the air, as a metaphor for both, human instability and the fickleness of fortune. The bull is being watched by caricatured faces, also with butterfly wings, that laugh mockingly.
Sketchbooks G and H were produced in Bordeaux, probably simultaneously or very close to one another in time, as evidenced by their formal, stylistic and technical similarity. In them, Goya gave free rein to his capacity for invention based on specific events he had experienced, such as the popular characters seen on the streets of Paris and Bordeaux, and to his pure imagination. Goya depicts the most significant issues presented over the course of his career, but in this case the changes the tone from satirical to grotesque: the falsehood of humanity, inequality, poverty, irrationality and the violence of individuals and of society. Most of the drawings in Sketchbook G include handwritten titles. Goya introduced the use of crayon in these albums. This occurs in coincidence to his interest in lithography and his practice of that procedure in Bordeaux.
Matilla Rodríguez, José Manuel, Ligereza y atrevimiento. Dibujos de Goya, Santander, Fundación Botín, 2017, p.128 n.76; 198-199 n.76
