In May of 1933 Pablo Picasso etched several plates on the subject of the dying Minotaur who is depicted before a row of spectators located behind the barrier of a bullfighting ring. In one of these etchings a young man appears who stabs him with the puntilla: a fatal blow aimed at the agonizing bull.

In contrast to these etchings—in which the Minotaur displays a resigned acceptance of death—, this one belonging to the Fundación MAPFRE collection exhibits how the artist concentrated on his alter ego’s gestures of pain.

The faces of five women look at the scene with severity. Meanwhile, another female character, Marie-Thérèse Walter, extends her hand toward the dying Minotaur’s back, offering him relief and comfort. The Minotaur’s gesture and the lance would reappear in the Guernica.