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 near the very end of the fight, when the matador has worn the bull out and goes in for the final kill. The matador has maneuvered the bull into a position where he can stab the bull between the shoulder blades and through the heart. The act of thrusting the sword for this final kill is the estocado. Picasso depicts the matador during the moment of estocado, as he jabs his weapon forward, stabbing the bull, who now stands calmly to the right, between the shoulders. 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. 146 on pg. 125.
2. Ramié, Alain. Picasso Catalogue of the edited ceramic works 1947-1971, Madoura, 1988. Listed and illustrated as catalogue raisonné no. 430 on pg. 227.
3. Ramié, Geroges. Ceramics of Picasso. Barcelona: Edicitiones Poligrafa, S.A., 1985. Listed and illustrated as catalogue raisonné no. 565.

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