Picasso, Pablo, Spades (red and yellow), 1959

The motif of the pike, here in the colors of Spain, belongs to the bullfighting theme, which played an increasingly important role in Picasso’s work from the time he moved to the South of France after the Second World War. He produced numerous linocuts in a variety of Pique (black and beige) colors, details and settings, including Après la pique, La pique cassée and Avant la pique.