Dramatic Poetry c. 1896

"Dramatic Poetry" (c. 1896) by French Symbolist painter Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, depicts a seated man, likely a poet, contemplating a piece of paper against a backdrop of mythical figures soaring through the air and swimming in a blue ocean. The work's title reflects the artist's interest in using art as a powerful and emotional medium to evoke the human experience, particularly the evocative nature of literature and poetry. The painting's muted color palette and ethereal subject matter are characteristic of the Symbolist movement, which sought to express abstract ideas and emotions through evocative imagery.