Pablo Picasso Spanish, 1881-1973
La Grande Corrida, 1934
Etching on copper-plate, on Montval "vergé" paper.
Image: 48.7 x 69.7 cm
Sheet: 56.8 x 77.5 cm
Sheet: 56.8 x 77.5 cm
Edition of 50.
The edition, planned by Vollard at 50 examples, was never delivered or paid for due to the death of the great Parisian dealer. The proofs were bought in 1960 by a Parisian dealer. Only a few (four or five) prints, sold by Lacourière, were signed by Picasso.
The edition, planned by Vollard at 50 examples, was never delivered or paid for due to the death of the great Parisian dealer. The proofs were bought in 1960 by a Parisian dealer. Only a few (four or five) prints, sold by Lacourière, were signed by Picasso.
Non-signed
Like every Spaniard, Picasso attended bullfights from an early age. For Picasso, bullfighting was more than mere entertainment; it was a quasi-magical, religious ritual. The spectator, like the artist himself, sometimes identifies with the beast, sometimes with the bullfighter. In Picasso's work, the bull and the bullfighter are often caught up in a skilful dance, an interweaving of forms.
The rhythm of this composition is breathtaking. The drama is played out dynamically and powerfully, and its conclusion is implacable and singularly brutal. Drypoint and etching allow Picasso to get close to the fight, plunging his tool into the heart of the fray, fascinated by the intertwining of bodies as well as the sensual possibilities of the struggle, the proximity of blood and souffles. A tour de force of printmaking, this composition approaches abstraction in its rendering of the energy of combat. The chaos of the fight is even reminiscent of surrealist automatism, with its impulses of the unconscious, and anticipates Jackson Pollock's all-over decades later. The charging bull stands out in the centre, with Maie-Thérèse's bust calmly watching from the edge. The audience, often a metaphor for Picasso's audience, is reduced to simple strokes.
Like every Spaniard, Picasso attended bullfights from an early age. For Picasso, bullfighting was more than mere entertainment; it was a quasi-magical, religious ritual. The spectator, like the artist himself, sometimes identifies with the beast, sometimes with the bullfighter. In Picasso's work, the bull and the bullfighter are often caught up in a skilful dance, an interweaving of forms.
The rhythm of this composition is breathtaking. The drama is played out dynamically and powerfully, and its conclusion is implacable and singularly brutal. Drypoint and etching allow Picasso to get close to the fight, plunging his tool into the heart of the fray, fascinated by the intertwining of bodies as well as the sensual possibilities of the struggle, the proximity of blood and souffles. A tour de force of printmaking, this composition approaches abstraction in its rendering of the energy of combat. The chaos of the fight is even reminiscent of surrealist automatism, with its impulses of the unconscious, and anticipates Jackson Pollock's all-over decades later. The charging bull stands out in the centre, with Maie-Thérèse's bust calmly watching from the edge. The audience, often a metaphor for Picasso's audience, is reduced to simple strokes.
Provenance
Studio of Lacourière, Paris.
Galerie de l'Institut, Paris.
Private collection, USA.
Exhibitions
Deborah Wye, « A Picasso Portfolio, Prints from the Museum of Modern Art », ed. The Museum of Modern Art, New-York, 2010. - ill. p. 67. (catalogue d’exposition).
Florian Rodary et Camille Jaquier, «Picasso. Lever de rideau: Collections de la Fondation Werner Coninx et Jean et Suzanne Planque », Musée Jenisch Vevey, 21 juin -7 octobre 2018.
Publications
Bloch n°1330
Baer n°433
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