Picasso and tauromachy
In his youth, Picasso went to bullfights with his father in Malaga, Spain, seeing his first at the age of 8. When he was later settled in the South of France, he regularly went to Arles to see the bullfighter Luis Miguel Dominguin in action. Picasso would tell him that had he not been a painter, he would have wanted to be a picador.
Bullfighting - the corrida - is one of the central themes of Picasso's works. His portrayals of the bull and the Minotaur are a reflection of his passion for the sport.
The Minotaur started to appear in his work in the Thirties. It is a sacred, savage and archaic figure; a monster trapped in the centre of a labyrinth - like the bull in the ring. The presence of the Minotaur in Picasso's work is intended to express the duality of man; the confrontation between his bestiality and his humanity, particularly in terms of his sexuality.
1933 saw the appearance of the Minotauromachy, combining tauromachy and the Minotaur, and it is also at this time that the corrida reasserted its importance in Picasso's work, following his travels in Spain. The presence of pairs - a horse and a bull, a woman and a bull, a woman and a Minotaur - and trios - a horse, a bull and a bullfighter or a woman - can also be found in his work. Picasso's portrayals of the bull and the Minotaur are a reflection of his passion for the corrida.
