Pedro Romero

Pedro Romero was the most admired bullfighter in Spain, head of the classical Ronda school, credited with killing several thousand bulls across his career without once being gored. When Goya painted him, around 1795, Romero was nearing the end of a long career and would leave the ring a few years later, in his mid-40s. Goya himself had recently come through the illness that left him permanently deaf, and he was studying Velazquez hard. You can see it in the handling here, the black jacket and the silvery waistcoat brushed in wet strokes against the white of the shirt. Romero looks out steadily, a man used to standing still while something large came at him fast.