Picasso moved from Barcelona to Paris in his early twenties. He was 55 when a civil war broke out in his homeland, and the painter never ever returned to Spain, not even for a visit. He lived in France for a significant part of his life, yet he remained proud of his Spanish roots throughout. He loved attending bullfights, marvelling at these strong animals and the cany toreadors. According to Françoise Gilot’s account, “In Pablo’s view, the perfect Sunday, in keeping with classic Spanish traditions, went like this: Mass in the morning, a bullfight in the afternoon, a brothel in the evening. It wasn’t hard for him to give up on the first or the last, but bullfighting was one of the greatest joys of his life.” The dynamic struggle between man and beast, tactics and raw power was something he also depicted in his works.