PABLO PICASSO (1881-1973)
Femmes et toréador (A.R. 541)
stamped and marked 'MADOURA PLEIN FEU/EMPREINTE ORIGINALE DE PICASSO/J.150 291/500/MADOURA' (on the reverse)
terracotta plaque, partially engraved, with black engobe
9 1/16 x 4 3/4 x 10 inches (23 x 12 x 25.5 cm)
Conceived in 1968. This work is number 58 from an edition of 300.

NOTES:

This ceramic piece by Picasso brings forward two recurring motifs in his work, the matador and the female figure, uniting them into a compact sculptural narrative. The torero evokes theme of life, death, and ritual, while the female form comes from inspiration pulled directly from his relationships with those he surronded himself with as he worked out of the Madoura studio. Together, they reflect Picasso’s interest in myth, performance, and relationships of power and vulnerability. Rendered in clay, the work blends modest craft traditions with Picasso’s poetic abstraction, turning a simple sheet of clay into a charged symbolic object. As a result, Femmes et toréador (A.R. 541) is a prime example of Picasso's endeavor into ceramics.