DeGrazia's use of color and a palette knife bring to life the different stages of the bullfight. The palette knife dances across the canvas in colorful swirls to bring motion to life.

At the end of the series, we see a dead bull. DeGrazia says, "The artist is not to justify the death, but only to record its drama with feeling and color. I hope that in the paintings I have in some way conveyed the real meaning and beauty of the bullfight. As the torero challenges the bull with "ah ha TORO," may you feel some of the tenseness and a part of his emotional involvement."

The bullfight series was inspired by the many bullfights DeGrazia attended in Mexico. The collection, which was completed in 1967, is made up of 30 paintings that boldly depict the savage beauty of man battling beast in the bullring.  Such a battle is vibrantly portrayed in “Manoletina” (shown above).