CHOKAI Seiji

The picador, a bullfighter who rides a horse and stabs the bull with a spear in the Spanish bullring, has been the subject of many artists, including Goya, Picasso, and Dali. Chokai was so fascinated by Spain that he traveled to Europe in his late twenties and stayed in Madrid for five months to see Goya's works, so using the picador as his subject was probably part of his understanding of the Spanish painter. This work by Chokai Seiji captures the horse almost from the front and is a version without a spear, but there is a sense of tension as it is not clear where the spear is coming from.