Hoja

This subject is entitled Hoja ("leaf" in Spanish) which refers to the ‘leaf green’ colour of the matador’s suit. In his painting, Gaillard shows the matador moments before a fight, at a time of particular tension and emotion. Matadors and their sport are associated with pride, honour, skill and courage
and these themes are effectively heightened in Gaillard’s paintings; he usually sets the matadors against a dark background and dramatically shadows their faces from the viewer. Gaillard’s work can be counted amongst a long history of depicting bullfighters in art and many artists such as Goya, Picasso, and Botero have used it to symbolize wider subjects including war, life and death. Christian Gaillard's ambitious paintings of bullfights have made his name all over the world. Gaillard has painted portraits of the greatest living
matadors, many of whom are personal friends, including Ortega Cano, Nino de la Capea, Chamaco and Luis Francisco Espla

Each print is hand numbered and accompanied by a certificate signed by the artist. The certificate is numbered to match the print.