The artwork titled “Boy with a langosta” is a creation by the renowned artist Pablo Picasso, completed in 1941. It is an oil on canvas painting with dimensions of 130 x 97.3 cm, and it represents the genre of painting known as genre painting. As a part of the Surrealism movement, the piece is housed in the Musée Picasso in Paris, France. Picasso’s work demonstrates his unique style and contribution to this avant-garde movement, characterized by its dreamlike and fantastical elements.
In this depiction, the central figure is a boy who is portrayed with oversized features and a disproportionate anatomy, which are typical of Picasso’s style and the Surrealist effort to challenge reality. The boy is holding a large lobster (langosta) in a somewhat playful or curious manner. The use of color, while somewhat muted, focuses attention on the boy and the lobster, as both subjects are set against a more neutral background. The creature’s elongated pincers and the figure’s black-and-white striped shirt add a dynamic contrast to the composition. The boy’s expression is ambiguous, lending an open-ended interpretation to the viewer, which is another hallmark of Surrealism. Overall, the artwork encapsulates Picasso’s ability to blend his inventive representation of the world with a playful and thoughtful examination of everyday subjects.
