A Matador  1867

The matador is the illustrious Cayetano Sanz y Pozas (1821–1890), who Manet saw in action during an 1865 trip to Spain—his only visit, despite a longstanding fascination with seventeenth-century Spanish art. This canvas, the first of the full-length figure paintings that Manet completed after studying the works of Velázquez in Madrid, was made upon his return to France. Un...