The Unfortunate Death of Pepe Illo
2019 © Maxim Tabachnik
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The Unfortunate Death of Pepe IlloFrancisco Goya

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Goya’s etching from La Tauromaquia (1815–16) portrays the fatal goring of bullfighter Pepe Illo. Its slashing lines and stark contrasts heighten the panic of the arena, exposing the cruelty of bullfighting. More than a record of Spanish custom, the work confronts violence itself, turning spectacle into a haunting meditation on human fragility and death.