Picasso: Romancero du Picador

Pen and Wash Drawings of the Bullfight

Based on Picasso's most Spanish series of drawings, this short film is a fusion of art and music. The drawings depict the bullfight, that confrontation between life and death, between man and beast. They show the mounted picador whose picas test the bull's bravery, the graceful and heroic matador, the public hooting and applauding in turn. Picasso, Spanish-born, depicts his types with the sardonic eye of a Goya. Dissolves and camera movement trace the vigorous drawings, blending with the clamor of the arena, piercing flamenco coplas and dances accompanied by guitar and castanets. This creates a sense of action in a film which requires minimal narrative. The brilliance of Picasso, the Spanish spirit and the drama of the bullfight merge.

For more information see section 26 and section 28

© 1998-2008 The Roland Collection & Pira Intl.