The artwork titled “Pot, Glass and Book” was created by the prominent artist Pablo Picasso in the year 1908. This piece is an oil on canvas and is categorized under the Cubism movement, one of the most influential visual art styles of the early twentieth century. The painting is a still life that features a pot, a glass, and a book, and it measures 55 x 46 cm. The artwork is currently housed at the Hermitage Museum located in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
Looking at the artwork, we can observe the classic elements of Cubism, where objects are broken up, analyzed, and re-assembled in an abstracted form. Picasso has depicted a pot, which takes center stage with its voluminous form and warm earthy tones, alongside a faceted glass with a sense of transparency. The objects are placed against a backdrop of planar surfaces that suggest depth and space without employing traditional Renaissance perspective. The colors are fairly muted, with blues and ochres dominating the composition, while the shapes and contours exhibit a geometric simplification. The shadowing and interplay between light and dark further enhance the three-dimensionality of the objects within the two-dimensional plane. The juxtaposition of the differently textured objects and the flat, intersecting planes creates a dynamic tension within the painting, inviting viewers to consider the interplay of form and space in new and innovative ways.
