The Minotaur – a mythical creature with a man’s body, a bull’s head, and a taste for human flesh – also appears in his works, often lurking near a young, sleeping female figure (bearing the features of his mistress, Marie-Thérèse Walter). In these works, the image of the monster vigilantly and longingly watching the helpless girl with soft, flowing curves represents tamed animal instincts.

Surrealist artists were, too, inspired by this creature of legends; they named their own journal “The Minotaur”. The first issue was published in 1933, featuring Picasso’s Minotaur collage on the cover, and, among other things, an essay by André Breton (citing the Greek writer Tériade) titled “Picasso in His Element” in the columns.