A Theory of Pablo Picasso’s Palette of Words: Indexed Information and Context in His Art and Poetry Spanning the Occupation

It has always been understood that Pablo Picasso imbued his arts with a rich symbolism. Those representations could be understood readily, at times only with some effort, or utterly inaccessible at others. A part of that symbolism is yet to be understood, with numerous points of information and cros...

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Main Authors: Ryan Standage, Nathan Nossal
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-03-01
Series:Arts
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0752/14/2/39
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author Ryan Standage
Nathan Nossal
author_facet Ryan Standage
Nathan Nossal
author_sort Ryan Standage
collection DOAJ
description It has always been understood that Pablo Picasso imbued his arts with a rich symbolism. Those representations could be understood readily, at times only with some effort, or utterly inaccessible at others. A part of that symbolism is yet to be understood, with numerous points of information and cross-reference “hiding” in plain sight. He was fond of newsprint as a substrate and medium for painting, not only during wartime, but especially so in the deprivations of World War II. The relationship between some paintings typical during the period and the newsprint on which they were done was intense, such that the substrate inhabits the medium, sharing equal part with the composition. Around the same time or after, Picasso was crafting poems of an often cryptic nature. An in-depth look at two poems reveals a multitude of references to paintings on newsprint and to the contents of that newsprint. With new understandings of those symbols, evidence emerges that Picasso’s “palette of words” was more than just metaphor, but also descriptive of a theory and a method which the artist put into practice in at least two instances of WWII-era newsprint paintings and famously cryptic poems, detailed here.
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spelling doaj-art-378a41a6c8db4e438c2fbbd4f3852fe92025-08-20T03:14:17ZengMDPI AGArts2076-07522025-03-011423910.3390/arts14020039A Theory of Pablo Picasso’s Palette of Words: Indexed Information and Context in His Art and Poetry Spanning the OccupationRyan Standage0Nathan Nossal1Independent Researchers, Kanazawa 920-1155, JapanIndependent Researchers, Kanazawa 920-1155, JapanIt has always been understood that Pablo Picasso imbued his arts with a rich symbolism. Those representations could be understood readily, at times only with some effort, or utterly inaccessible at others. A part of that symbolism is yet to be understood, with numerous points of information and cross-reference “hiding” in plain sight. He was fond of newsprint as a substrate and medium for painting, not only during wartime, but especially so in the deprivations of World War II. The relationship between some paintings typical during the period and the newsprint on which they were done was intense, such that the substrate inhabits the medium, sharing equal part with the composition. Around the same time or after, Picasso was crafting poems of an often cryptic nature. An in-depth look at two poems reveals a multitude of references to paintings on newsprint and to the contents of that newsprint. With new understandings of those symbols, evidence emerges that Picasso’s “palette of words” was more than just metaphor, but also descriptive of a theory and a method which the artist put into practice in at least two instances of WWII-era newsprint paintings and famously cryptic poems, detailed here.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0752/14/2/39comparative analysissemioticsinterpretive analysisinformation complexityPeugeotVichy
spellingShingle Ryan Standage
Nathan Nossal
A Theory of Pablo Picasso’s Palette of Words: Indexed Information and Context in His Art and Poetry Spanning the Occupation
Arts
comparative analysis
semiotics
interpretive analysis
information complexity
Peugeot
Vichy
title A Theory of Pablo Picasso’s Palette of Words: Indexed Information and Context in His Art and Poetry Spanning the Occupation
title_full A Theory of Pablo Picasso’s Palette of Words: Indexed Information and Context in His Art and Poetry Spanning the Occupation
title_fullStr A Theory of Pablo Picasso’s Palette of Words: Indexed Information and Context in His Art and Poetry Spanning the Occupation
title_full_unstemmed A Theory of Pablo Picasso’s Palette of Words: Indexed Information and Context in His Art and Poetry Spanning the Occupation
title_short A Theory of Pablo Picasso’s Palette of Words: Indexed Information and Context in His Art and Poetry Spanning the Occupation
title_sort theory of pablo picasso s palette of words indexed information and context in his art and poetry spanning the occupation
topic comparative analysis
semiotics
interpretive analysis
information complexity
Peugeot
Vichy
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0752/14/2/39
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