This print is from a set of 33 etchings known as the Tauromaquia ('The Art of Bullfighting'). The series covers the history of bullfighting, from its origins in the hunting of bulls by the ancient Spaniards, through the development of contests initiated during the Moorish occupation and perfected by the Christian nobility, until it became a popular sport in the eighteenth century.
Here we have a matador called Martincho preparing to leap from a table over the bull's back, with his legs in irons. The subject is identified from an inscription in the set presented to Goya's friend Ceán Bermúdez, which is now in The British Museum. There is a preparatory drawing with considerable variations in the Museo del Prado, Madrid.