Toreador 1914 - 1915

Editor: This is Toreador by Jacques Lipchitz, currently at the Tate. It's a sculpture made of stone or plaster, I think, and it gives off a feeling of restrained power, almost like a chess piece. What do you make of it? Curator: Chess piece, love it! For me, it's a dance with death, frozen in time. Lipchitz, wrestling with Cubism, captures that tense moment before the bullfight. The rigid planes contrast with the flowing cape, don't you think? It's a real battle of form and feeling. Editor: Absolutely, the angularity versus the curve... it's like two worlds colliding. Curator: Exactly! It's what Lipchitz does best, really. It is as though the sculpture attempts to capture the invisible energy of the matador. I find myself pondering how to express such energy through art. Editor: That makes me see it differently. Curator: And that, my friend, is the magic of art.