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Bull fights in the arts and in reality

Picasso, Dalí and Goya in Wrocław 2016

The Wrocław exhibition Picasso Dalí Goya. Tauromachia – The Bullfight presents works of the world's most recognizable artists: Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí and Francisco Goya.  A key theme of the exhibition is the figure of a bull: the animal which symbolises strength and courage; and the associated tauromachia, which has for centuries inspired Spanish masters.  

Organised by Galeria Miejska in Wrocław, the exhibition will be hosted by the Museum of Architecture in Wrocław from 24 July to 16 November 2014. Bullfights and the associated corrida are a colorful and, at the same time, controversial element of the culture of Spain, which had been changing over the centuries, gradually taking the characteristics of a sophisticated ritual; a spectacle whose cruelty has been provoking much emotion for years. 

The form of the exhibition presented in Wrocław is influenced by the process of evolution of the phenomenon of corrida as well as major events in the political and social history of Spain. Visitors to the exhibition will find that each of the presented masters approached the problem of tauromachia in a different way. Francisco Goya's engravings entitled Tauromachia depict various techniques of fighting bulls, characteristic of the times when the corrida was just developing. In turn, the works of Pablo Picasso, who was perfectly familiar with Goya's oeuvre, they become, in addition to the visualisation of his juvenile fascinations, also an expression of his protest against the events taking place in Spain during the rule of General Franco. The Wrocław presentation will include the graphic cycles showing the corrida as seen through the master's eyes and the facsimiles of preparatory drawings for the artist's most famous painting entitled Guernica, on the basis of which the visitors will be able to trace the process of creation of this extraordinary work. Picasso wanted it to call the world's attention to the drama of the Basque town, bombed on 26 April 1937. On the other hand, the famous surrealist Salvador Dali perceived the bullfighting more in terms of a magical ritual, confrontation with the animal which had an aesthetic dimension, hence the works ehxibited in Wrocław, such as Bullfight No. 1, excellently capture not only the impenetrable world of the artist's imagination, but also his personal vision of tauromachia. 

The death of General Franco in 1975 was followed by prophecies of imminent extinction of bullfighting, as an entertainment associated with the years of terror. However, the number of corridas organised in Spain has not decreased. Its opponents emphasize the gratuitous cruelty of this form of entertainment, while the supporters raise the confrontation of man with a wild animal to the rank of art and passionate happening. Through the works presented, the Wrocław exhibition will certainly make us reflect on this ritual, providing significant aesthetic experience and  allowing us to penetrate into Spain's rich tradition.

Published On: 08 July 2014

http://wroclaw2016.pl/exhibition-picasso-dali-goya

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