Art News

Taurus: From Myth to Ritual at the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum

BILBAO.- From prehistoric times to the Roman age, the bull had pride of place in Mediterranean culture and art, and the image of this magnificent beast appears in myths, ritual ceremonies, games and fiestas. The Renaissance also favoured the iconography of the bull, particularly in connection with the myths of the Minotaur and the Rape of Europa. From the 16th century, art also reflected contemporary interest in representations of the bullfight. Some of the greatest creative artists of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries also focused on modern bull-related pastimes and games, which still bore an echo of the ancient cult of that extraordinary life force, combined with an unflinching look on death. This exhibition was sparked by the centenary commemoration of Bilbao’s bullfight appreciation society, the Cocherito de Bilbao, and the original idea was to show the complex approach art has taken to the figure of the bull. Allied to the beast’s religious importance in primitiv