Taureaux
Cocteau's "Taureaux" is a masterwork of the deluxe livre d'artiste genre, comprising 31 lithographs that capture the drama and mythology of bullfighting through the artist's characteristic linear style and dynamic compositions. This 1963 limited edition, one of only 60 deluxe copies printed by the renowned Mourlot workshop on BFK Rives paper, represents the height of French fine art book production with its 18 full-page color lithographs and accompanying separate suite. The work exemplifies Cocteau's ability to infuse ancient themes with modernist sensibility, transforming the corrida into a vehicle for exploring the eternal struggle between man and beast.
- Medium
- The deluxe book, 1963, comprising 31 lithographs, 18 full-page printed in colours, with a separate suite of the 18 full-page lithographs, with title-page, text and justification, this copy numbered from the edition of 60 deluxe copies, printed by Mourlot, published by Michele Trinckvel, Paris, on BFK Rives paper, with full margins, the sheets loose in the original printed paper wrappers and yellow, linen covered solander box, overall size 400 x 310mm (15 3/4 x 12 1/4in), Condition, Related Lots,
- Location
- Forum Auctions, London, UK
🔨 Auction Lot
Prints & Works on Paper 1500-2026
March 31, 2026
Lot 202
Artists in conversation
Pablo Picasso
Spanish · b. 1881
Picasso's lifelong obsession with bullfighting imagery and bulls as mythological symbols directly parallels Cocteau's Taureaux, and his own Mourlot printed lithographs share the same expressive linear style and modernist approach to animal subjects in fine art book production.
Francis Picabia
French · b. 1879
Picabia's fluid linear draftsmanship and surrealist sensibility in limited edition French fine art publications closely mirrors Cocteau's expressive and sketch like approach to figurative subjects within the deluxe livre d'artiste tradition.
André Masson
French · b. 1896
Masson repeatedly depicted bullfighting with surrealist and expressionistic energy through dynamic linear compositions, and his own involvement in deluxe illustrated French publications printed with Mourlot makes his work strikingly similar in both subject matter and production context to Taureaux.
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