The Poet (Le poète) by Picasso

When I was looking for a painting to share with someone to do an art writing exchange – where we each write about a painting we choose for each other – there was one painting that stood out to me that I wanted to analyse: Picasso’s The Poet (Le Poète). The painting, in Cubist style, was cryptic at first but, after reading the description, studying the painting, and talking through the work with a friend 1, I became ever more curious and wanted to write my thoughts.The title stood out to me: The Poet. When I look at the poem with this title in mind, I see the complexities and potential depths of poetry: the difficulties of trying to find a word that precisely encapsulates an experience or a moment. I see this in all the straight, dark lines that appear throughout the painting, and in the cacophony of disparate shapes that come together to create a bigger picture in which, every time I look, a new detail comes to my attention. The lack of colour makes me think that the poet is having a…