Bullfight, or Novillada at El Escorial

He arrived on the Iberian peninsula in 1849, intending to visit Madrid, and stayed until 1863, sending paintings back to France, which had great success.

From Antonin Proust we know that one of the modern paintings, then exhibited at the Musée du Luxembourg, that interested him the most was Bullfight by Alfred Dehodencq.

[3]Dehodencq enjoyed minor bullfight arenas over those of Madrid, thanks to their sites in the middle of villages on small squares surrounded by houses with ruins from the 1808 French invasion.

[4] Dehodencq formed part of the Duke of Montpensier's circle of French artists in Spain, producing other lesser-known works on bullfighting, notably drawings and sketches.

[4] His second most famous painting is Bohemians Returning from a Festival in Andalucia[1] which won the gold medal at the 1853 Paris Salon and is now in the town museum at Chaumont (Haute-Marne)[5][6]