The famous Martincho putting flags at the break

See How the ancient Spaniards hunted bulls on horseback in the countryside

This is one of the Bullfighting prints whose subject is the particular suertes of bullfights, a group that begins with the preceding engraving, The very dexterous student from Falces, wearing a mask, teases the bull with his "quiebros". This group includes four prints dedicated to the famous Aragonese bullfighter Martincho (nos. 15, 16, 18 and 19), although in one of them the identification of the character is not entirely conclusive. There is also an additional discarded print also dedicated to Martincho ( Bullfighting H) of which only state proofs have been preserved. In the present engraving, Goya masterfully depicts the efforts of the man and the bull in the bullring.

Due to the large number of prints that Goya dedicated to Martincho, whose real name was Antonio Ebassun Martínez (1708-1772), some authors have concluded that there was a good friendship between the painter and the bullfighter, something that cannot be ruled out but is difficult, given the enormous age difference between the two and the fact that the bullfighter died when the painter was just beginning to make a name for himself. Nevertheless, it is clear that Goya at least had great admiration for the legendary bullfighter, to such an extent that the prints he dedicated to him are highly evocative and are among the most emblematic of bullfighting. His figure breathes strength even in the midst of his actions; Goya was interested in personifying the bullfighter and his gesture rather than blurring it.

The lighting is striking, adding drama to the scene, and above all the effects created with the burnished aquatint, which blurs the background, leaving the highlights in the centre. The bullfighter is seen holding the banderillas in his hands and looking the bull in the face in a suerte known as topacarnero, which is no longer in use. The bull is placed in front of the spectator, which adds depth to the scene. In the background we can make out the barrier of the bullring, occupied by spectators watching Martincho's action, and the bullring gate, through which the bulls enter the bullring, is also depicted.

Lafuente Ferrari highlights this print and the two immediately preceding, entitled A Spanish knight in the square breaking rejoncillos without help from the pimps and The very dexterous student from Falces, wearing a mask, teases the bull with his "quiebros", for its treatment of light and space within the series. For his part, Tomlinson compares the engraving with another from the Tauromaquia but much later in the arrangement of the set, Fire Pennants (8.6.31.), and comments on the stylistic evolution in the production of the series.

There is a preparatory drawing of the present print, also entitled The famous Martincho putting flags at the break