Descripción
Original poster. The design was based on a fragment of an aquatint authorized by Picasso from the series of 26 prints he made to illustrate the book “La tauromaquia o el arte de torear” by José Delgado, also known as “Pepe-Hillo”. An additional print run of 12 series was made with the 26 aquatints printed on “nácar-moli vell” guarro paper and signed in red pencil.
The motif of this poster was reproduced on a new poster for the exhibition “Picasso and the Bullfights” at the Kestnermuseum in Hanover from 23 November 1961 to 14 January 1962.
Don Gustavo Gili, founder of the publishing house that published “La Cometa” and who, in 1927, on the advice of Agustín Calvet, had asked Picasso to illustrate “La Tauromaquia” by Pepe-Hillo.
Enthusiastic about the idea, Picasso began work on the illustration, but only made a few engravings. He had to abandon the project because of the war. He would later use two of the engravings in the illustration for Honoré Balzac’s book, ‘Le Chef-d’ouvre inconnu’.
The aquatint reproduced by collotype in this poster comprises only the part of the original engraving corresponding to the mounted bullfighter and the bull. The figures on the left-hand side and the crowd were removed from the poster. The work, called ‘Corrida a caballo’, shows a mounted bullfighter facing the bull with a rejón, a kind of lance. His aim is to demonstrate his courage and skill, as well as the perfection of his horsemanship and his art of, when the time comes, killing the bull from the saddle without the need for a puntilla or dagger.
