©Pablo Picasso - A bullfight 1934

Picasso A bullfight 1934
A bullfight
1934 33x40cm oil/canvas
Private collection

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Picasso was a bullfighting aficionado from his youth and portrayed the bullring at various points in his career. As a very young artist he made picturesque renderings. Taking up the theme in his Neoclassical period, he devised bullfight scenes that suggest the ballet. In the 1930s, under the influence of Surrealism, Picasso emphasized the violence of the subject. Returning to the bullfighting motif in the late 1950s, he focused on strong colors suggesting the time of day and on decorative elements inherent in the unfolding drama.