After the Bullfight
Mary Cassatt·1873
Historical Context
After the Bullfight (1873, Chrysler Museum of Art) was painted during Cassatt's formative years before she fully embraced Impressionism, when she was still exploring diverse subjects. The painting reflects her early travels in Spain, where she studied Velázquez and Murillo, and her interest in the same Spanish subjects that fascinated Manet. The bullfight was an exotic, dramatic spectacle for northern European and American painters of the era. This work shows Cassatt at a transitional moment — technically assured but not yet fully committed to the Impressionist program she would embrace by 1877.
Technical Analysis
The painting demonstrates Cassatt's early academic training with stronger tonal modeling and darker values than her mature work. Spanish light and the dusty arena atmosphere inform a warm, dry palette. The handling anticipates her later directness but retains more conventional finish in the figures.
