Pepe Illo making the cut to the bull (preparatory drawing)

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

Preparatory drawing for the print Pepe Illo making the cut to the bull . It is a drawing full of characters and movement, which later underwent certain modifications when it was transferred to the plate. Essentially, the composition here is retained in the print, but the chiaroscuro effect is accentuated.

In the drawing we can see how in the foreground Pepe Illo is doing a "remove" with his hat to the bull, who is looking at him furiously. The animal is masterfully drawn, depicted in a great foreshortened view. In this case the banderillas are stuck higher than in the engraving, and it is much more illuminated than in the engraving, in which it will be darkened. The group of banderilleros and labourers on the right is less numerous than it will later be on the plate. There are also two figures to the left of the picadors in the background that will later be eliminated in the engraving. The barrier of the bullring and the bullrings with the audience are depicted by Goya in a similar way in the print, with the figures sketched as here, without dwelling too much on them, simply drawing silhouettes.

The present drawing was pasted onto a second piece of laid paper belonging to a French army record book in Spain.