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Carmen Auction

112 - Lucien CLERGUE (1934–2014) – Silver print entitled ‘Toros Mu…
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Estimate €100 - €200
Description
Lucien CLERGUE (1934–2014) – Silver print entitled ‘Toros Muertos 1961’, reference 203, copy No. 6 of 20. Stamped and titled. Creases, stains, marks and tears. 61 x 50 cm “To be born in Arles, particularly at that time, was to be born into the afición, bullfighting and the ‘toros’. At the time of the Easter Feria, the town seems to emerge from its hibernation; the Camargue bull and horse breeders vie for control of the bullring. Young boys dream of becoming bullfighters, and many give it a go. Lucien Clergue was no exception to this temptation, but he soon realised he was too short-sighted to be a bullfighter. Throughout his life, however, he would see the bulls up close, photographing bullfights from the callejón (the space between the stands and the barrier) in Arles, Nîmes, Béziers, Seville, Madrid… He would go on to produce several books on legendary bullfighters. But what really sets him apart is one of his very earliest works: photographing the bull’s final moments at ground level beneath the protective barrier. In doing so, he showed that the animal, after the fight, remains the king of the arena and is entitled to be celebrated on a par with the bullfighter, who rises to his feet as the crowd’s cheers carry him forward. Lucien Clergue liked to recount that the idea of photographing the head of the dead bull had come to him whilst travelling with his young bullfighter friends, and that he could only find a place at the very back of the butcher’s livestock van as it carried the animal’s body away. He produced a beautiful book on this theme, *Toros muertos*, and his first film, *Le Drame du taureau* (1965, Louis Lumière Prize 1966), featured in the exhibition, was selected for the 1968 Cannes Film Festival, though the event was sadly cut short by the events of the time before the winners were announced.” Excerpt from the exhibition catalogue “Lucien Clergue, Les premiers albums”, an exhibition held at the Grand Palais from 14 November 2015 to 15 February 2016.
See original version (French)
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About the sale BID ON IT – FASHION, WINE, CERAMICS & TABLEWARE, GLASSWARE, FURNITURE AND PAINTINGS
Auction location
Auction time 07/13/2026 at 8:00 PM
ID: 87960795
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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