The sketch, almost schematic character of this composition makes this one of the most attractive bullfighting scenes ever painted by Fortuny. It offers a panoramic view of a bullring —probably in Madrid— in which the powerful contrast of light between the part in the sun and the part in the shade is outstanding. The painter treats the hustle and bustle of the spectators as an undefined mass, with multiple patches of black and small touches of ochre, showing his preference for the most colorful aspect of the spectacle and eschewing its more dramatic intensity.

This work was donated by the widow of Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo to the now-defunct Museum of Modern Art in 1951.