Ταυρομαχία

001152 Nikos Yialouris, Bullfight, n.d., Indian ink and tempera on paper, 64.5 × 65.5 cm

The bloody and barbaric spectacle of the bullfighter and the bull preoccupied Yialouris at various points in his career, initially around 1970 and later in the 1990s. The painter had never traveled to Spain nor had any particular interest in bullfighting. His engagement with the subject stemmed partly from his influences from European Modernism (Surrealism and Picasso’s interwar works), and partly from the allegorical use of the theme, in combination with ancient mythology—and particularly the myth of the Labyrinth. In the drawing, the bull is rendered schematically, with its body composed of an elaborate system of curved lines. The final result resembles a mock-up for a stained-glass window. The animal, with an expression of curiosity, turns its head toward a red cloth (the only coloured element in the composition), lying at the lower left corner of the image. Here, Yialouris appears to be playing with the idea of sight and perception, using bullfighting as a symbolic form. For, as is well known, cattle do not see colour—and red means nothing to them.