• Artist: Elaine de Kooning
• Material: Oil on canvas
• Medium: Painting
• Dimension: 77 5/8 x 130 1/4 in

Elaine de Kooning depicts the chaotic Bullfight in her artwork, Bullfight, which is based on expressive brushstrokes as well as distinct abstract forms. Through its abstract representation of figuration, the painting expresses Bullfighting’s physical, violent, and mental elements. The artist De Kooning explored motion as her subject matter in Bullfight, so she crafted a design that transforms human shapes into vibrant color movements. The clash between aggressive red and yellow hues with gentle color tones produces a visual conflict corresponding to the depicted scene’s emotional force. Frequently accompanied by her husband Willem, Elaine de Kooning possessed a fearless practice that married classical inspirations to modernist audacity. For Elaine, modernist images of masculinity were a means to challenge and act out concepts of gender.