BULL I, 1973: Linecut on paper from the Bull Profile series

  • Bull I from the Bull Profile series, depicting a black bull on paper
    Bull I, 1973
    Linecut on Arjomari paper, Sheet: 68.6 x 88.9 cm
    Edition of 100; plus 13 AP, 1 TP, 1 RTP, 1 PPII, 3 GEL, 1 C, 1 SP (on Angoumois à la Main paper)
    ©The Estate of Roy Lichtenstein
    BACK TO: BULL PROFILE SERIES
     
    Roy Lichtenstein’s Bull I, 1973, presents a striking figurative image of a bull rendered entirely through thin vertical black lines. Executed as a linecut, the composition relies on the careful arrangement of black and white to construct the form of the animal. Areas of solid black and white patches interrupt the vertical lines, creating subtle variations in tone and giving the image depth. Despite the limited palette, the bull’s features remain clearly defined, with the horns, ears, eye, and nose emerging from the linear structure of the print. The result is a highly graphic yet recognisable representation that emphasises the relationship between line, pattern, and form.
     
    Bull I forms part of Lichtenstein’s Bull Profile series of 1973, in which the artist examined the visual structure of a familiar subject through progressive abstraction. The print was issued in an edition of 100 with additional artist proofs and variants. Through its controlled use of line and contrast, Bull I establishes the starting point of the series, from which the image of the bull would be gradually simplified into increasingly abstract forms. 

  • "All my art is in some way about other art, even if the other art is cartoons."

     

    - Roy Lichtenstein

    Lichtenstein begins an exploration of how a subject can be transformed through successive artistic treatments, echoing Pablo Picasso’s approach in Le Taureau, 1945. In Picasso’s celebrated series of lithographs, the image of a bull is gradually simplified across eleven stages, moving from a naturalistic depiction to a highly reduced symbol composed of essential lines. Lichtenstein engages with a similar idea in the Bull Profile series, using the progression of prints to examine how form, line, and colour can evolve through different printmaking techniques.