Le Taureau is a series of lithographs by Pablo Picasso made with the assistance of Fernand Mourlot from December 1945 to January 1946.[1] In his memoir Mourlot recalled that "in order to achieve his pure and linear rendering of the bull, he had to pass through all of the intermediary stages".[1]

The series depicts a bull as it is progressively refined through 11 images to the simplest rendering of form.[1]

Picasso made the initial drawing of the bull on 15 December 1945.[1] The initial drawing of the bull is the rarest lithograph of the series as only 2 or 3 were produced. The third rendering of the bull was described by m as a terrible creature, with terrifying horns and eyes. Still unsatisfied, Picasso progressively simplified the drawing until it became increasingly geometric.[1] The simplicity of the final image has been compared to a hieroglyph.[2] Despite the simplicity of the final image the Portland Art Museum describes it as "nonetheless eloquently captur[ing] the power and bulk of the bovine".[3]

The eleventh and final image was created on January 17. Mourlot believed this was the bull in its "essential form", having been "rendered in a few perfectly placed lines...with his pinhead and ridiculous horns like antennae". Mourlot recalled that his workers "regretted seeing such a magnificent bull transformed bit by bit into a sort of insect". Mourlot's assistant Jean Célestin said that with the final image "Picasso ended up where normally he should have started".[1] Picasso's technique of progressive refinement inspired Andre Minaux in his lithography.[4]

The series was made in an edition of 50; with an additional 18 artists proofs.[5]

Le Taureau is number 389 in Georges Bloch's Catalogue of the Printed Graphic Work of Picasso.[6][7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Le Taureau de Picasso". Fernand Mourlot. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  2. ^ Sarah J. S. Suzuki; Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.) (2011). What is a Print?: Selections from the Museum of Modern Art. The Museum of Modern Art. pp. 95–. ISBN 978-0-87070-818-3.
  3. ^ "Le Taureau (Bull)". Portland museum of Art. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  4. ^ Hélène Minaux (20 January 2015). A painter witness to his time Minaux 1923-1986. Books on Demand. p. 40. ISBN 978-2-322-00742-4.
  5. ^ "Pablo Picasso - The Bull (Le Taureau), state XI January 17, 1946". Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  6. ^ "Chapter 7: A Survey of Picasso's Prints: 1945-1955, Françoise et al".
  7. ^ Pablo Picasso; Betsy Geraghty Fryberger (1998). Picasso, graphic magician: prints from the Norton Simon Museum. Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts at Stanford University in association with Philip Wilson Publishers. ISBN 978-0-937031-13-1.
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