This stunning piece is one of eight dishes that Picasso created of different corrida scenes, all made of red earthenware clay with black engobe decoration. This scene takes place in the middle of the fight, when the banderillero, a member of the matador's cuadrilla, sticks the banderilleras, or decorated barbed darts, into the bull's neck or shoulder. The banderilleras are designed to remain in the bull for the remainder of the fight, and are meant to aggravate the bull further. Picasso here conveys an action shot in which the banderillero appears to face the full head-on, leaping into the air to stick in to banderilleras as the bull charges forward. Picasso again utilizes a triangular composition in which the action takes place at the peak. The banderillero's hands for the tip of this triangle, forming a nearly 90 degree angle as he turns the sharp darts downwards to stab the bull. Picasso once more depicts the figures in silhouettes, encouraging the viewer to focus on the movement of the subjects rather than the details of their appearance.

Created in 1959, this red earthenware clay dish with engobe decoration in black is numbered 4/50 (from the edition of 50) on the bottom of the dish. This work also features the inscribed stamps "Madoura Plein Feu" and "Empreinte Originale de Picasso" on the bottom.

DOCUMENTED AND ILLUSTRATED IN:

1. Bloch, Georges. Pablo Picasso: Volume III Catalogue of the Printed Ceramics. Switzerland: Editions Kornfeld et Klipstein, 1972. Listed and illustrated as catalogue raisonné no. 143.
2. Ramié, Alain. Picasso Catalogue of the edited ceramic works 1947-1971, Madoura, 1988. Listed and illustrated as catalogue raisonné no. 427 on pg. 225.
3. Ramié, Geroges. Ceramics of Picasso. Barcelona: Edicitiones Poligrafa, S.A., 1985. Listed and illustrated as catalogue raisonné no. 561.

ABOUT THE FRAMING:
Museum grade conservation framed in a complementary moulding with silk mats.