Avant la pique 1959

This powerful 1959 linogravure, Avant la pique (“Before the Picador’s Lance”), by Pablo Picasso belongs to a celebrated series of prints devoted to the spectacle and ritual of the bullfight. Published as plate 38 by Cercle d'Art, the work exemplifies Picasso’s late mastery of printmaking and his enduring fascination with Spanish cultural traditions.

The composition captures a moment of tension just before action unfolds. Rendered in stark, graphic contrasts, a mounted picador confronts the bull, while surrounding figures—reduced to shadowy forms—frame the scene. The drama lies not in movement, but in anticipation. The title itself underscores this suspended instant: the calm before the violent encounter.

Picasso employs the linocut technique with exceptional boldness. Large areas of deep black define the principal figures, while warm ochre tones carve out space and light. The rough, expressive cuts of the linoleum block are visible throughout, giving the image a raw, tactile quality. This deliberate simplicity heightens the emotional intensity, stripping the scene to its essential forms.

The silhouettes dominate the visual field. The picador, rigid and upright on horseback, contrasts with the looming mass of the bull, whose presence is felt as much as seen. The absence of fine detail shifts focus to shape and balance, evoking both the physical confrontation and its symbolic weight.

Bullfighting was a recurring theme in Picasso’s work, reflecting his Spanish heritage and his lifelong exploration of themes such as ritual, violence, and spectacle. In Avant la pique, these elements are distilled into a near-abstract composition, where the arena becomes a stage of archetypal conflict.

Stylistically, the print bridges tradition and modernism. While rooted in a centuries-old cultural practice, the visual language is unmistakably modern—flattened forms, high contrast, and an emphasis on graphic impact over realism. The result is an image that feels both ancient and contemporary.

As part of Picasso’s linocut series of the late 1950s, this work also represents a technical innovation. He developed new methods of cutting and printing linoleum to achieve multiple colors from a single block, pushing the boundaries of the medium.

Today, Avant la pique stands as a striking example of Picasso’s ability to transform a familiar subject into a powerful visual abstraction—capturing not just a scene, but a moment of psychological tension suspended between stillness and action.

Linocut

Abstract - Bullfight

Pl. 38 Editions Cercle d'Art à Paris

Good condition