Pablo Picasso – Set of 4 Lithographs for Los Toros avec Picasso
Publisher: André Sauret, Monte-Carlo, 1961
Printer: Mourlot, Paris
Technique: Lithographs on Arches wove paper
Catalogue references:
Perfect condition, sold directly with the book so never framed!
Cramer 113
Reuße 786–795
Mourlot 346–350
Bloch 1014–1017
Description:
In March 1961, Pablo Picasso created four remarkable lithographs to accompany Jaime Sabartés’ book Los Toros avec Picasso (Cramer 113). These compositions, executed in lithographic crayon on transfer paper, were printed at the Atelier Mourlot in Paris under the supervision of Fernand Mourlot. The works continue the artistic vein of Toros y Toreros and express Picasso’s lifelong fascination with bullfighting — capturing the dynamism of the arena, the matador’s grace, and the atmosphere of the corrida.
The four lithographs in the series are:
1. La Pique (The Picador) – Reuße 786, Mourlot 346, Bloch 1014
2. Jeu de cape (The Cape Play) – Reuße 787, Mourlot 347, Bloch 1015
3. Les banderilles (The Banderillas) – Reuße 790–791, Mourlot 348, Bloch 1016
4. La Mort du taureau (The Death of the Bull) – Reuße 794–795, Mourlot 349, Bloch 1017
Context:
These lithographs were created at Picasso’s Château de Vauvenargues shortly after the publication of Neruda’s Toros, and they reveal the artist’s continuing dialogue between the themes of bullfighting and artistic creation. Mourlot’s notes record that Picasso personally added color indications and humorously commented on the printer’s request for color proofs, leading to the famous color lithograph of Le Picador (dated 6.3.61 and 21.4.61).
Dimensions: Approx. 24 × 31 cm (image), 38 × 51 cm (sheet, Arches wove paper)
Edition: Part of the book edition of Los Toros avec Picasso (Cramer 113), printed in 1961
Provenance & significance:
A historically important suite linking Picasso’s late bullfighting imagery with his collaboration with André Sauret and Fernand Mourlot — these four lithographs stand among the last expressions of his tauromachie theme in book illustration.
