Sand Bull — Andoni Bastarrika, Zarautz
Andoni Bastarrika · A life-size resting bull modelled in sand · Seafront promenade, Zarautz, Basque Country, Spain
Photo from the Street Art Utopia archive; the same photograph is published by the artist on realisticsandart.com. Photographer and capture date unrecorded. Artwork: Andoni Bastarrika. Full photograph shown; resized for display.
Andoni Bastarrika shaped this resting bull from sand on the seafront promenade (malecón) in Zarautz, in Spain’s Basque Country, and identifies it as the bull that went viral in 2019. Andoni Bastarrika, Esculturas · LA NACION, 22 May 2020 Checked My Modern Met later reported that its horns were real and its hooves were rocks. My Modern Met, 28 May 2020 Reported It was a temporary work: no present-day sighting is known. LA NACION, 22 May 2020 Unconfirmed
4 things to know
- Made on the promenadeThe artist’s own account places the bull on the malecón in Zarauz, the Spanish spelling of Zarautz. LA NACION also identifies the seafront location in its photo caption. Andoni Bastarrika, Esculturas · LA NACION, 22 May 2020 Checked
- The horns were realMy Modern Met reports that Bastarrika fitted real horns to the sand bull and used rocks for its hooves. My Modern Met, 28 May 2020 Reported
- About twelve hours of workIn the interview published by Bored Panda’s Spanish edition, Bastarrika says the bull, horse and bison each took around twelve hours. This is the artist’s estimate. Bored Panda (Spanish edition), 26 May 2020 Reported
- An artwork that returns to the beachBastarrika told LA NACION that when he dismantles his works he cleans the spot, removes rubbish and returns the sand to the beach. The report gives no removal date for this bull. LA NACION, 22 May 2020 Reported
Check-in guide
- 📍
- The seafront promenade (malecón) of Zarautz, Gipuzkoa, Spain. The exact spot on the promenade has not been published. Andoni Bastarrika, Esculturas · LA NACION, 22 May 2020 Checked
- 🏖️
- A temporary sand sculpture: do not expect to find this bull. Bastarrika says he returns the sand to the beach when he takes a work down. LA NACION, 22 May 2020 Reported
Sightings
- 202022 May
Photo and interview · LA NACION
- 202025 May
Resting bull reported · Europa Press
- 202026 May
Interview with the bull · Bored Panda
- 202028 May
Two views of the bull · My Modern Met
Every stamp links to its source. All four are amber: they are publication dates of the same photographs in 2020, not new on-site sightings, and none gives the day the photos were taken. The status stamp rests on the artist’s statement that the bull went viral in 2019.
On the record
Cocodrilos, tiburones y perros: las increíbles criaturas de arena de un artista de la playa
“toro de tamaño real hecho en arena”
Life-size bull made of sand.
El toro de arena del artista español Andoni Bastarrika y otras detalladas esculturas que se confunden con la realidad
“La del toro descansando”
The one of the resting bull.
Incredibly Realistic Sand Sculptures Look Like They’ve Crawled Onto Shore
“uses real horns on its head and rocks as its hooves.”
On what is not sand in the bull.
The facts
- Artist
- Andoni Bastarrika. Andoni Bastarrika, Esculturas · LA NACION, 22 May 2020 · Europa Press, 25 May 2020 · Bored Panda (Spanish edition), 26 May 2020 · My Modern Met, 28 May 2020 Checked
- What it is
- A life-size resting bull modelled in sand. LA NACION, 22 May 2020 · Europa Press, 25 May 2020 Checked
- Place
- Seafront promenade (malecón), Zarautz, Basque Country, Spain; exact point not published. Andoni Bastarrika, Esculturas · LA NACION, 22 May 2020 Checked
- Date
- By 2019: the artist says the bull went viral that year. The day it was made is not published. Andoni Bastarrika, Esculturas Reported
- Horns and hooves
- Real horns and rocks for hooves, according to My Modern Met. My Modern Met, 28 May 2020 Reported
- Working time
- Around twelve hours, according to the artist. Bored Panda (Spanish edition), 26 May 2020 Reported
- Status
- A temporary sand work; no dated sighting after the 2019 bull and its 2020 press coverage was found, so whether anything is left is not known. LA NACION, 22 May 2020 Unconfirmed
- Our photo
- The SAU post uses this photograph from our media library; photographer not recorded. Street Art Utopia, 19 Oct 2026 Checked
Related
- They Almost Moved (8 Photos): the SAU collection with the bull
- Incredibly realistic sand sculptures, made by Spanish artist Andoni Bastarrika: more of his sand animals on SAU
All sources (6)
The artist
- Andoni Bastarrika: Esculturas, the artist’s site. The Zarauz promenade bull that went viral in 2019, with the photograph.
Press
- LA NACION: “Cocodrilos, tiburones y perros: las increíbles criaturas de arena de un artista de la playa”, 22 May 2020. Artist interview; the life-size bull on the Zarauz promenade; he returns the sand to the beach.
- Europa Press: “El toro de arena del artista español Andoni Bastarrika …”, 25 May 2020. The resting bull.
- Bored Panda (Spanish edition): interview with Andoni Bastarrika, 26 May 2020. About twelve hours for the bull, horse or bison.
- My Modern Met: “Incredibly Realistic Sand Sculptures Look Like They’ve Crawled Onto Shore”, 28 May 2020. Real horns and rocks as hooves.
Street Art Utopia
- Street Art Utopia: They Almost Moved (8 Photos), 19 October 2026. The SAU post with this photo.
Artwork File · Last checked 19 October 2026 · Certainty labels follow How We Verify Art · All Artwork Files