When Francisco de Goya painted Banderillas en el campo in 1793, he was recovering from a mysterious illness that left him deaf and changed his artistic vision. This work belongs to a series of small paintings on tinplate, known as the “cabinet pictures,” which Goya created for his own pleasure rather than for a royal commission. Unlike his grand court portraits or religious scenes, these private works allowed the artist to experiment freely with subject and technique.

The painting captures a popular spectacle of the time, but does so with a rawness and immediacy that set it apart from the more polished bullfighting scenes favored by earlier artists. The moment Goya fixes is the dangerous act of placing banderillas—barbed sticks—into the bull’s shoulders, not in the arena, but out in the open countryside. The matador, poised mid-stride, faces the charging bull without the protection of barriers or the order of the ring. The crowd, scattered and informal, blends into the rough landscape, emphasizing the rural, almost lawless character of the event.

Goya’s loose, energetic brushwork and earthy palette heighten the sense of movement and unpredictability. Unlike the stately, choreographed bullfights immortalized by Francisco Rizi or Joaquín Sorolla, Goya’s scene is chaotic and fraught with risk, hinting at both the thrill and the violence that fascinated Spanish society. The exact provenance of Banderillas en el campo is not fully documented, but it is generally agreed that it was part of the group of small paintings Goya kept in his own possession before some entered private collections. These works mark a turning point in his career, reflecting his growing independence from official patronage and his interest in popular customs.

Today, Banderillas en el campo is recognized as an early example of Goya’s fascination with the darker aspects of Spanish life—a theme he would pursue with greater intensity in later works such as the Tauromaquia prints. Its current location is in the Museo del Prado, where it stands as a testament to Goya’s restless experimentation during a transformative period in his life.