Descripción
In the drawing reproduced on this poster, Picasso makes a sketch in which, as Wilhelm Boeck says, “he uses the style of silhouettes and the wonderful technique of colour blocks used in aquatints. These momentary impressions are among the most outstanding works that Picasso offers us in his later years.”
In a single day, Picasso drew three bullfighting scenes. The one reproduced on the poster represents the performance of the banderilleros. The figures were “sketched with an Indian ink brush, forming points of light without taking into account every detail. Altogether, the result is of surprising precision” for someone who is not an amateur. However, from the point of view of the truth of the festival, we must once again disagree on this question of “accuracy,” since the scene does not show exactly what happens in a bullfight.
What Picasso shows us is a parody. In the composition we see the bull flying, with the head of a calf, not at all like a well-armed bull, with blood in its eyes and a noble bearing. As for the banderillero, we are shown a sophisticated figure, lacking the seriousness of countenance that bullfighters have and, in short, the whole scene lacks the pathos and realism that Manuel Mujica Gallo demands and that appeared in the works of Goya, Lucas, Solana and other painters.
