Why did graceful cape work become more important than a quick kill in modern bullfighting?

In early bullfighting, the kill was considered the pivotal point of the spectacle, and the primary objective was to dispatch the bull as efficiently as possible. However, this focus shifted over time as the matador’s ability to master the animal and exhibit graceful arte de torero became increasingly valued.1

This transformation was largely driven by the career of Juan Belmonte, who revolutionized the spectacle between 1910 and 1935. Belmonte emphasized the danger to the matador by performing close, graceful cape work, working nearer to the bull’s horns than had previously been thought possible.12

As a result, modern bullfighting is often viewed not merely as a struggle to dispatch the animal, but as a contest of skill, daring, and grace. Audiences now judge matadors by their ability to mold the bull's charges into a choreographed work of art, making the kill secondary to the aesthetic mastery displayed during the fight. While the kill remains the "moment of truth," the artistic performance with the cape has become the defining measure of a matador's merit.213