Le Corbusier began the Taureaux series after the Second World War. This lithograph was originally inspired by a stump of dead wood and a pebble discovered in the Pyrenees. Le Corbusier created what he termed a “bestiary”, drawing inspiration from both natural shapes and human figures. For the artist, the bull, an animal renowned for its refusal to surrender, emerges as a new icon. Using lyrical abstraction, Le Corbusier expresses his ideas through direct emotional expression, spontaneous gestures and freedom of form. With symbols that gradually emerge, such as nostrils, tail and horns, Taureau is both recognizable and fragmented, the product of a spontaneous process, devoid of sketches or outlines.
This work was also shown at MBAL during the exhibition animal instinct/instinct animal (2023-2024).
Lithograph, inv. 146
