Osborne Solera Gran Reserva Brandy | Keith Haring | Javier Mariscal | Juan Gatti

Connecting the Osborne bull and the art world is hardly a stretch. Keith Haring, Javier Mariscal, Juan Gatti, and Luis Mayo, among others, have all paid homage to the bull in their work. In 1964, other prominent artists played an important part in creating the packaging for Osborne’s Conde de Osborne Solera Gran Reserva Brandy: Salvador Dalí was commissioned to design the bottle and label, glass artisans from the Catalan region were responsible for handblowing the prototype for the white glass decanter, and potter Antoni Cumella created the bottle’s  indigo ceramic stopper. (The packaging is still in production, available as a limited-edition collector’s item.)

From an unadulterated commercial image to a universally adored national icon — the transformation seems improbable. But when you’re traveling through Spain, it’s hard to imagine a symbol better suited to represent the country and its people. When you’re standing in the Tejada workshop alongside the creators of the bull and hundreds of the familiar figures, it’s impossible to imagine any other people in any other place bringing them to life. It’s as if only from tradition can tradition be born.