Contemporary Spanish Painting by Richard Somonte

Before starting to watch this documentary, we recommend setting your device to cinema mode to perceive the color more accurately.

This video documents every phase of the production process of this painting. From the general lines that give structure to the composition to the superposition of oil paint and the final details. The work is built on a triangular composition slightly tilted to the right and a diagonal that runs through the bullfighter's hand and the bull's spine. This composition organizes the visual tensions and reinforces formal stability in contrast to the dramatic instability of the moment. The background is constructed with a horizontal line in the second third that separates the arena from the boards. The precise moment of the volapié is represented, when the bullfighter directs the sword toward the bull. The gesture, the alignment of the body, the extended muleta, and the vertical movement of the sword are studied, in a synthesis of technical gesture and expressive restraint.

Keywords: oil painting, triangular composition, artistic process, suerte suprema, bullfighting, volapié, estocada, painting technique, original painting, figurative painting, bullfighting, Spanish art, artistic creation, art collecting, bullfighter, art studio, Romanticism, Goya, Velázquez, Pradilla, Manet.

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