It’s incredible to imagine a painter covering the entire surface of this canvas with their thought and attention. And it’s incredible to see photos of this painter, Joaquin Sorolla, working on location, in the open air, with brushes that look like javelins, on canvases that resemble billboards. I don’t know how much of Before the Bullfight was painted outside, but the painting has both the fresh spontaneity of a plein air work, and the considered compositional architecture of a well-planned studio piece. Sorolla is somehow able to have it both ways.