Lot 59: John Bagnold Burgess, RA (British, 1830-1897) Bravo, Toro! 44 1/8 x 34in (112 x 86.5cm)

John Bagnold Burgess, RA (British, 1830-1897)
Bravo, Toro! oil on canvas44 1/8 x 34in (112 x 86.5cm)

Provenance: Sir David Salomons, Lord Mayor of London (by 1867);with Galerias Iturbide, Madero, Mexico;Enrique Solórzano Sanz, Madero, Mexico, acquired from the above circa 1929; Thence by descent to the present owner. ExhibitedLondon, Royal Academy, 1865, no. 304;Paris, Exposition universelle, 1867.Literature: John Bagnold Burgess, Magazine of Art, volume 5, London, 1882, p. 134;Winifred Meynell, The Modern School of Art, volume 2, London, 1887, p. 57;Sidney Lee, ed., Dictionary of National Biography, Burgess, John Bagnold, 1st supplement, London, 1901L'Exposition universelle de 1867 illustrée : publication internationale autorisée par la Commission impériale, Paris, 1867, p. 264.Bravo, toro!, the long-lost masterpiece that launched Bagnold Burgess's career at the Royal Academy in 1865, has been at last re-discovered in a private collection in the United States. The striking composition has been seen publicly only briefly since its execution. It is likely that Sir Salomons bought it right off the walls of the Royal Academy, then proudly included it in the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1867, as the exhibition label caries his name. Its journey takes it to Mexico, where it is sold by Galeria Iturbide to the grandfather of the present owner at the beginning of the 20th century. While much admired at these exhibitions, the painting has never been illustrated or engraved, but only described in great detail, particularly by the reviewer of the Universal Exhibition, who singled it out as most remarkable among the entries representing England. The unusual point of view focusing on the audience rather than the spectacle was a novel idea, although Hogarth used it in his The Laughing Audience more than a century before. With vivid and various expressions under strong excitement, Bravo, toro! stands out distinctly from the rest of Burgess's works. The spectators are of all classes and characters, and every face is animated with the sudden emotion aroused by some striking incident in the bull-fight.Burgess started traveling to Spain in 1858 with his friend and fellow artist Edwin Long, whom he met at James Matthews Leigh Art School and who would become his travel companion to Spain for many years to come. Burgess loved Spain with passion and he sought to immerse himself in the locals' lives, spending time with the peasants and the gypsies and immortalizing these moments in countless sketches and oils. Over the following thirty years, he went on to exhibit colorful scenes of Spanish life that would be favorably received but none would surpass the enthusiasm generated by Bravo, toro!.