Bullfight: The Pas de Deux

Some contend that bullfighting remains one of the most artful and sophisticated means by which some cultures celebrate the bravery of the hunter. This ancient ritual illustrates the complex relationship between predator and prey, and between culture and nature. Here, Sanchez’s vividly arresting artworks and text reflect this exquisite pas de deux, where the bull and the bullfighter trace the lines and forms of their existence with each pass. The accompanying texts by both author and art critic provide what the steps of the bullfight represent as metaphors of our broader relationships between nature and humans. Here is a distinctively beautiful and enlightened visual and intellectual study of the intersection of tradition, culture, art, and nature in this ancient rite that is so exquisitely and intricately recorded that one can actually see why by so many it is so revered as an art form: it truly is a ballet’s pas de deux.