The artwork “Bull (plate IX)” by Pablo Picasso, created in 1946, is a lithograph on paper that belongs to the Cubist movement. It is an animal painting and forms part of Picasso’s series “Eleven developments of a lithograph.” The artwork is housed within the prestigious collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City, NY, USA.
In this lithography, Pablo Picasso presents the viewer with a stylized depiction of a bull. The artwork is characterized by a reduction of detail and a focus on the essence of the animal’s form, using a series of overlapping and intersecting lines. Picasso adeptly uses lithography to simplify the bull’s shape, reducing it to a collection of geometric and organic shapes that suggest its form rather than delineate it with precision.
The composition is deceptively simple, with a clear sense of contour and internal division of space. Lines are used confidently and sparingly, indicating the outline of the bull’s body, limbs, and features such as the head, tail, and horns. Despite the sparse use of line and the absence of tonal shading or color, Picasso manages to convey a sense of the bull’s mass and energy. This work exemplifies how Picasso could evoke significant depth and animation within a seemingly minimalistic approach.
