Four young men struggle with a young bull in an attempted bullfight or an effort to control the animal. Behind the wall, several spectators watch this particular bullfight. The youth dressed in red has sometimes been thought to be a self-portrait of Goya. This improvised bullfight takes place in an unlikely urban setting. A pair to The Tobacco Guards (P-788), these scenes of male arrogance contrast with two involving women: The Washerwomen (P786) and The Swing (P785).

This was a cartoon for a tapestry to be hung in the antechamber to the bedroom of the Prince and Princess of Asturias at the El Pardo Palace. The erotic or gallant subjects of many of these scenes lies here in its placement across from The Washerwoman (P786), whom the youths would seem to be trying to impress with their attitudes.