Li Torè

sketchfab

Li Tore, the popular nickname for Le Dompteur de taureaux, a sculpture by Léon Mignon, earned a gold medal at the Paris salon in 1880. The nudity of its bullfighter caused a scandal and the wrath of Catholic press upon his return to Liège; diverse shorts and grape leaves were added. Joseph Demarteau, editor-in-chief of Gazette de Liège, was offended by the work. In response, secular students baptized the bullfighter with the editor's first name, Joseph. Since then, Liégeois students have made the powerful bull their mascot. Today, it is still celebrated during Student Saint-Nicolas and Saint-Torè, or Saint Bull, a traditional festival held on the third week of March. Students repaint each year the bull's testicles with the color of the faculty of the AGEL (Association Générale des Étudiants Liégeois) president of the current year.