1943 Le buffet du Catalan R2 Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) Period of creation: 1943-1961

The composition presents a still life arranged on what appears to be a table or sideboard. The artist has fragmented and reassembled recognizable objects into a complex geometric arrangement. A dark, amorphous form dominates the upper portion of the canvas, its contours defined by sharp angles and planes that suggest both solidity and instability. Below this, a collection of tableware is presented in an equally fractured manner.
A bowl, rendered with angular lines and a distorted perspective, holds what seems to be a triangular piece of food – perhaps fruit or pastry – decorated with small, repetitive markings. A smaller, cylindrical object sits within the bowl, its form echoing the overall geometric vocabulary. Adjacent to this arrangement is another dish, also deconstructed into facets, reflecting light in a way that emphasizes its fragmented nature.
The background is divided into contrasting planes of color: a dark, almost black area on the left and a warmer yellow-ochre hue on the right. These planes do not meet at a conventional horizon line; instead, they intersect diagonally across the composition, contributing to a sense of spatial ambiguity and disorientation. The table surface itself is rendered with similar angularity, further blurring the distinction between foreground and background.
The work’s subtexts revolve around themes of perception and representation. The artist seems less interested in depicting objects realistically than in exploring their underlying structures and forms through abstraction. The fragmentation suggests a breakdown of traditional perspectives and a questioning of how we understand reality. The repetition of geometric shapes – triangles, cones, cylinders – creates a sense of order within the chaos, hinting at an underlying logic that governs the arrangement.
The limited color palette – primarily dark browns, blacks, yellows, and whites – reinforces this feeling of austerity and intellectual rigor. There is a deliberate lack of sentimentality or emotional expression; instead, the focus remains firmly on formal elements and their interplay. The overall effect is one of controlled complexity, inviting prolonged contemplation of the relationship between form, space, and perception.