Bullfight in Sevilla 1910

Curator: Let’s have a look at Pyotr Konchalovsky’s “Bullfight in Sevilla” from 1910. He's working in a style close to the turn-of-the-century modernism that we saw emerging across Europe. Editor: The sheer physicality of the paint strikes me first. The thick daubs of oil, the energetic strokes… you can almost feel the heat and dust of the arena. Curator: It’s true. The impasto is key. He is also referencing Spanish tradition by choosing this very specific subject. This popular spectacle had symbolic meaning to many. Konchalovsky's take can be interpreted as a nod to his own nationalistic tendencies. Editor: I'm curious, looking at the material conditions. Given its production in 1910, I wonder where Konchalovsky sourced his pigments? These deep blues, reds, and ochres were increasingly industrially produced… Does that affect its artistic integrity or authenticity? Curator: The socio-political element certainly played a huge role in shaping the event itself, too, you know, its class dimensions. But this painting became so much more as the genre travelled from Spain through French imagination to other nations and contexts. And it has different significance now. Editor: It certainly transforms the very specific labour of this bullfight—the breeder, the matador, and, inevitably, the bull’s labor in this arena. The artmaking flattens these dynamics into mere brushstrokes... But isn't that unavoidable? How else might he address such a wide-ranging web of social actors, raw materials, and so much tension? Curator: His painting shows the cultural weight of these events—they become performative theatre. To an extent, yes, his engagement could go deeper in addressing animal cruelty, if that had been Konchalovsky's aim. But this perspective speaks more towards cultural memory than actual social transformation. Editor: Yes, it really makes me think about who gets to observe these social practices, consume them, and profit off of them. The artwork and bullfighting. Curator: Seeing how he presents us with a public event in Sevilla now provides me with lots of room for speculation. Editor: Indeed, viewing art is also labour—ours. The painting requires us to acknowledge these complicated relationships—production, material and societal alike.