Three bullfighting posters from the early 20th century.

Three bullfighting posters from the beginning of the 20th century.
Printed on paper.
One of them with printed signature: Ruano Llopis.
Measurements: 49 x 23 cm (each one).

At the beginning of the 20th century, bullfighting posters were consolidated as one of the most representative forms of Spanish popular culture. These posters not only fulfilled the function of announcing the bullfights, but also reflected the aesthetic taste, customs and social life of the time.

Generally printed in lithography, the posters combined elaborate typography with colorful illustrations showing bullfighting scenes, portraits of the bullfighters or emblems of the ranches. They were ephemeral works of art, pasted on walls, plazas and taverns, but made with great care and detail.

They included very precise information: the day and time of the celebration, the bullring where it would take place, the names of the matadors, as well as the origin of the livestock.

Ruano Llopis was a painter and poster artist trained at the School of Fine Arts of San Carlos, he won the gold medal at the Regional Exhibition of Valencia in 1909. In 1912 he made the first of his famous bullfighting posters. He exhibited in Valencia, Madrid, Bilbao, Marseilles and Paris, and collaborated with "La Esfera", "Mundo Gráfico", "El Mercantil Valenciano", etc. In 1934 he settled permanently in Mexico and promoted his international career, with personal exhibitions in Mexico (1938, 1949), Caracas (1949), New York (1945) and Philadelphia. He is considered today the best bullfighting poster artist, a genre in which he established a prototype that has endured to the present day.