Pable Picasso Taureau, marli aux feuilles (Bull, Rim with Leaves) A.R. 394 1957

Artist: Pablo Picasso
Title: Taureau, Marli Aux Feuilles (Bull, Rim with Leaves)
Medium: Ceramic Plate
Edition: X/500
Dimensions: 9 1/4" Diameter
Inscription: Stamped, marked, and numbered Madoura Plein Feu/ Empreinte/ Edition Picasso Gallery.
Reference: Literature: Alain Ramié, "Picasso: Catalogue of the Edited Ceramic Works 1947-1971," 1988 #no. A.119 1962
Condition: Very good condition without flaws
Documentation: Includes a Gallery Certificate of Authenticity included

Exhibition history:
"Fired by Imagination: Picasso Ceramics from New Orleans Collections", New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, LA, 1998 and "Picasso Ceramics", Lauren Rogers Museum, Laurel, MS, 2013. Ref.: Ramié, Alain. Catalogue of the Edited Ceramic Works 1947-1971, No. 394. Diverse and colossal, Pablo Picasso’s body of work is full of recurring motifs rendered in different manners and different media. He enjoyed studying nature, exploring both human and animal figures, while one of the dominating subjects in his entire oeuvre is the bull. Symbolic to his art, the bull served Picasso as the perfect form to examine, abstract and depict, emphasizing its power and intelligence, but also its masculinity and endurance. Perhaps he recognized a bull-like nature within himself because no other animal has been as glorified in his work.

From sketches, drawings, to ceramics and sculpture, the bull is present in all the media Picasso worked in, while some of these representations have gained the status of a masterpiece. During the long Madoura period, the genius artist conceived and created a large number of ceramic pieces embellished with a different variations of the bull figure.

Ceramic plate entitled “Taureau, marli aux feuilles (Bull, Rim with Leaves)” marks a part of this 25-year long period, representing its golden years. Black engobes describe the bull in the middle and the black leaves surrounding the rim of the plate. There is something profoundly archaic about the work, as it overtly references the black-figure pottery of ancient Greece. The schematic shadow of the bull alludes to the Minoan culture, stressing the strength and virility of the beast. Still, the simple decoration of the vessel, unburdened by color other than the black against natural terracotta, possesses a purely modern quality. In essence, this work is timeless and one of the finest examples of bull plates of the Picasso’s Madoura spell.

As a revered museum piece, “Taureau, marli aux feuilles (Bull, Rim with Leaves)” has a rich museum history. It was displayed in New Orleans Museum of Art in 1998 and in Lauren Rogers Museum, Laurel in 2013, securing its position as one of the most desired collector’s items of its kind.

About Pablo Picasso:

A man of unparalleled talent, Pablo Picasso was the most influential figure in the 20th-century art. With an unequivocal sense of invention, he was devoted to creating art throughout his life, crossing media with utter ease and elegance, always following his limitless imagination as the ultimate indicator of truth. Together with Georges Braque, Picasso fathered one of the most progressive art movements - Cubism, rethinking the representation of the three-dimensional space on a two-dimensional surface in a radical way. Inspired by the art of Africa and the Iberian peninsula, his ideas and works left a deep mark on other modernist movements, including Expressionism and Surrealism. His most famous work, the powerful “Guernica” (1937), was created in reaction to the Spanish Civil War, today celebrated as the supreme example of anti-war art. Resolute and vital throughout his life, Picasso left behind a colossal body of work of paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints, ceramics, costumes and stage set designs.

With a name synonymous with greatness, Picasso is considered a legend. He was infamous for his many passionate relationships with women, as well as for his charisma. With an ego to match his gift, the great artist once said about himself: “My mother said to me, 'If you are a soldier, you will become a general. If you are a monk, you will become the Pope.' Instead, I was a painter, and became Picasso.”

Pablo Picasso was born in Málaga, Spain, in 1881. He lived in Paris and Mougins, France, where he died in 1973.