Dimensions: object: 655 x 582 x 395 mm
Copyright: © Succession Picasso/DACS 2014 | CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
Curator: Standing before us, we have Pablo Picasso’s bronze sculpture, simply entitled "Cock". Editor: It strikes me as a rather assertive piece. The rough texture and dynamic pose convey a sense of raw power. Curator: It's interesting to consider how Picasso, known for challenging artistic norms, engages with themes of masculinity and virility through this particular animal form. Editor: The spiraling form of the neck and wattles, juxtaposed with the rigid legs, creates a captivating tension—a visual push and pull. Curator: Indeed. It reflects not only Picasso's formal inventiveness but also the historical associations of the cock as a symbol of defiance and resistance within certain cultural contexts. Editor: I hadn't considered that. Its formal qualities do lend themselves to those readings. Curator: So, by looking at Picasso’s artwork through these lenses, we can see how forms and symbolism can both work together. Editor: A potent reminder of how formal analysis can spark conversations about broader social meanings.
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Picasso made this work at the Château de Boisgeloup, near Gisors, which he had purchased in 1931. He turned the stables into a sculpture studio, and between 1931-4 produced there some of his most important sculptures. Most of these were of the female figure, represented in curving, organic forms, but he also produced three works on the theme of the cock, a subject which may well have been connected to his move to the countryside. The cock's body is composed of spiky, elongated forms, each of which has a strongly separate identity although subordinated to the animated whole. Gallery label, August 2004
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