Suerte de Varas (Lancing the Bull)

Eugenio Lucas Velázquez painted this bullfighting scene around 1855. The Museo del Prado catalogues it as Suerte de Varas (Lancing the Bull), an oil painting on canvas measuring 56 × 77 cm. Bullfighting was a recurring subject for Lucas, whose work drew on the example of Francisco Goya. The scene concentrates on a dangerous encounter between the bull and a mounted picador, with spectators gathered around the action.

The figures and horses are concentrated in the lower half of the composition beneath an expansive, hazy sky. Dark foreground shapes contrast with lighter buildings and smoke in the distance, while touches of red and blue punctuate the earthy palette.