Label:
Picasso was fascinated by the Spanish tradition of the corrida, or bullfight in the ring, during which skillful matadors and picadors struggle with proud and ferocious beasts in a fight to the death. Bullfighting imagery appears throughout the artist's career, including this turbulent painting that Picasso made after taking his wife, Olga, and his son Paolo to bullfights in Barcelona, Madrid, and San Sebastián, Spain, in the summer of 1934, during what would be his last visit to his native country. Completed in September 1934 after the family returned to France, this brightly colored painting captures the pageantry, spectacle, and high drama of the corrida.

Provenance

With Paul Rosenberg, Paris [1]; sold to Henry P. McIlhenny, Philadelphia, July 7, 1936 [2]; gift to PMA, 1957. 1. Rosenberg was Picasso's dealer from 1918. 2. Copy of dated receipt from Rosenberg to McIlhenny in curatorial file.