The Bull Fight
- Date
- August 1934
- Material
- Oil on canvas
- made in
- Gisors, Haute-Normandie region, France, Europe
- Classification
- Paintings
- Collection
- Modern and Contemporary Art
- Current Location
- On View, Gallery 212
- Dimensions
- 10 3/4 × 16 1/4 in. (27.3 × 41.3 cm)
framed: 18 in. × 23 1/2 in. × 2 5/8 in. (45.7 × 59.7 × 6.7 cm) - Credit Line
- Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Marcus Rice
- Rights
- © Estate of Pablo Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York, NY
- Object Number
- 279:1957
NOTES
Pablo Picasso uses a tangle of black lines to describe the violent energy of a bullfight. A brown bull is flanked by a rearing stallion on the left and an angular, green matador at right. The artist admired the power and force of the bull, seeing it as a metaphor for the animalistic, sexual passions of the unconscious mind. Picasso’s inscriptions indicate this picture was painted at the artist’s chateau at Boisgeloup, just outside of Paris, on August 2, 1934.
Provenance
by 1936 -
Galerie Paul Rosenberg, Paris, France, acquired from the artist [1]
- 1941
Gordon Onslow Ford, London, England; New York, NY
1941
Perls Galleries, New York, NY, USA, purchased from Gordon Onslow Ford [2]
1941 -
Vladimir Golschmann (1893-1972), St. Louis, MO, purchased from Perls Galleries [3]
by 1947 - 1957
Marcus S. and Bettie J. Rice, St. Louis, MO, purchased from Vladimir Golschmann
1957 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, given by Mr. and Mrs. Marcus Rice [4]
Notes:
The main source for this provenance is a letter dated March 13, 1947 from the Perls Galleries to Mr. Marcus Rice [correspondence, Perls Galleries records, 1937-1997, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.; photocopy, SLAM document file]. Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[1] According the Paul Rosenberg Archives, Paul Rosenberg acquired this painting by March 1936. The painting corresponds with a Rosenberg index card for stock number 3464 [The Paul Rosenberg Archives, a Gift of Elaine and Alexandre Rosenberg. The Museum of Modern Art Archives, New York; copy, SLAM document files].
[2] A Perls Galleries label previously on the back of the painting indicates that the painting was stock number 1130. This number corresponds with the gallery’s number system per index cards with negative number P83 and stock number 1130 for this painting [inventory, Perls Galleries records, 1937-1997, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.; photocopy, SLAM document file].
[3] The sale of the painting is documented in an invoice dated September 9, 1941 [invoice, Perls Galleries records, 1937-1997, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.; photocopy, SLAM document file].
[4] Deed of gift from Marcus Rice dated November 1, 1957 [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control and the Advisory Committee of the City Art Museum, October 10, 1957.
Galerie Paul Rosenberg, Paris, France, acquired from the artist [1]
- 1941
Gordon Onslow Ford, London, England; New York, NY
1941
Perls Galleries, New York, NY, USA, purchased from Gordon Onslow Ford [2]
1941 -
Vladimir Golschmann (1893-1972), St. Louis, MO, purchased from Perls Galleries [3]
by 1947 - 1957
Marcus S. and Bettie J. Rice, St. Louis, MO, purchased from Vladimir Golschmann
1957 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, given by Mr. and Mrs. Marcus Rice [4]
Notes:
The main source for this provenance is a letter dated March 13, 1947 from the Perls Galleries to Mr. Marcus Rice [correspondence, Perls Galleries records, 1937-1997, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.; photocopy, SLAM document file]. Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[1] According the Paul Rosenberg Archives, Paul Rosenberg acquired this painting by March 1936. The painting corresponds with a Rosenberg index card for stock number 3464 [The Paul Rosenberg Archives, a Gift of Elaine and Alexandre Rosenberg. The Museum of Modern Art Archives, New York; copy, SLAM document files].
[2] A Perls Galleries label previously on the back of the painting indicates that the painting was stock number 1130. This number corresponds with the gallery’s number system per index cards with negative number P83 and stock number 1130 for this painting [inventory, Perls Galleries records, 1937-1997, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.; photocopy, SLAM document file].
[3] The sale of the painting is documented in an invoice dated September 9, 1941 [invoice, Perls Galleries records, 1937-1997, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.; photocopy, SLAM document file].
[4] Deed of gift from Marcus Rice dated November 1, 1957 [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control and the Advisory Committee of the City Art Museum, October 10, 1957.
We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.