Head of a Bull (Minotaur)
Pablo Picasso, 1937
Technical Details
Medium
Oil and charcoal on canvas
Dimensions
92 × 65 cm (36.2 × 25.6 in)
Style
Surrealism / Drawing
Decade
1930s
About This Work
This powerful image of a bull's head — simultaneously a real bull and the mythological Minotaur — was created in the year of Guernica. The head is rendered with extraordinary force, the animal's eyes wide with a mixture of aggression and anguish that mirrors the emotional register of the great painting. The work is one of the most concentrated expressions of the bull symbolism that runs through Picasso's work of the 1930s.
The bull was one of Picasso's most persistent symbols, representing both the violence of the corrida and the creative force of the artist. In the context of 1937 — the year of the bombing of Guernica — the bull takes on a specifically political dimension as a symbol of Spanish identity and resistance.
Current Location
Musée National Picasso-Paris, Paris, France
Public Collection — Open to visitors
Visit museum website →Valuation & Provenance
2026 Estimated Value
$15–25 million (est.)
* Estimates are based on comparable auction results and market analysis. Not a formal appraisal.
Last Known Sale
No public auction record — held in permanent museum collection
Personal Photo — Museo Picasso Málaga
Photographed in person at the Museo Picasso in Málaga, Spain.
Horse's Head (Tête de cheval)
Photo: Dr. Eric Madrid, Museo Picasso, Málaga, Spain
View all Málaga photos →Keywords
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1936 · same style · shared subjects
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1932 · same style · shared subjects
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1938 · same era · similar medium
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1937 · same era · similar medium
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1937 · same era · similar medium
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