13 Expressive Poems about Paintings

These poems delve into the world of art and visual expression. They celebrate the power of paintings to tell stories, evoke emotions, and capture fleeting moments.

These verses may explore the connection between the artist and the canvas, reflecting on the creative process and the meaning behind strokes of color. Poets use language to paint their poetic canvases, inviting readers to visualize the images within their minds.

These poems become windows into the artist’s soul, illuminating the infinite possibilities of artistic interpretation.

Poems about Paintings Visual Representation

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The Journeyman Paul Cezanne on Mont Sainte Victoire

by Liz Lochhead

‘The Journeyman Paul Cezanne on Mont Sainte Victoire’ by Liz Lochhead discusses the lasting impression of Paul Cezanne’s art.

Cezanne and his paintings are the main topic of this poem. The poet, writing as Cezanne, discusses the process that he uses, the way in which he sees the world, and the confidence that they have in his ability. His use of color is one of the main aspects of this, revealing the depths of his paintings that the critic seems to miss.

What do I paint when I paint the blue

vase, the hanged man's house,

the still life of Hortense's hands

arranged on the still life of her lap,

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Beauty Beyond Words

by Gabriel Okara

‘Beauty Beyond Words’ by Gabriel Okara describes the end of a day boating in the river, observing the beauty of the sunset.

Paintings are mentioned briefly as a way to express the tranquil beauty of the scene, as well as the impact that the poet has by entering the scene, describing it as being like a "despoiling" brush that would ruin the painting.

The sun is sinking slowly in chanting colors!

And into yielding river of red and orange

I move my despoiling paddle

Like defacing brush on beautiful painting in oil,

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A Face

by Robert Browning

Written in response to fellow poet Coventry Patmore’s poem The Angel in the House (1854), ‘A Face’ by Robert Browning explores the poet’s fascination with a lady’s portrait, particularly her facial features depicted in it.

If one could have that little head of hers

Painted upon a background of pale gold,

Such as the Tuscan’s early art prefers!

No shade encroaching on the matchless mould

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Chinese Art

by Elizabeth Jennings

‘Chinese Art’ by Jennings shows the growth from influenced views to appreciating art’s depth independently.

I came to your city, I walked the path you took

And imagine your loneliness in the days you spent without me

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How the old Mountains drip with Sunset

by Emily Dickinson

Dickinson’s ‘How the old Mountains drip with Sunset’ celebrates sunset’s ineffable beauty, saying it is hard to capture in words or painting.

How the old Mountains drip with

Sunset How the Hemlocks burn—

How the Dun Brake is draped in Cinder

By the Wizard Sun—

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Hunters in the Snow

by William Carlos Williams

‘Hunters in the Snow’ by William Carlos Williams is a mostly straightforward description of a painting by the same name created by Pieter Brueghel.

The over-all picture is winter

icy mountains

in the background the return

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Iris

by Sujata Bhatt

‘Iris’ by Sujata Bhatt is a narrative poem with lyric qualities. It depicts an artist’s wait for the sun to come out and bring out the colors in a single iris.

Her hand sweeps over the rough grained paper,

then, with a wet sponge, again.

A drop of black is washed grey,

cloudy as warm breath fogging cool glass.

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Landscape with the Fall of Icarus

by William Carlos Williams

‘Landscape with the Fall of Icarus’ by William Carlos Williams gives the reader a dark description of a painting by Pieter Brueghel.

According to Brueghel

when Icarus fell

it was spring

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Next, Please

by Philip Larkin

In classic Philip Larkin style, ‘Next, Please’ is a bleak reflection on life. It explores death and asks the reader to focus on the present while they can.

Always too eager for the future, we Pick up bad habits of expectancy. Something is always approaching; every day Till then we say,

#10

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Rembrandt’s Late Self-Portraits

by Elizabeth Jennings

‘Rembrandt’s Late Self-Portraits’ is an in-depth look at the way in which a painted self-portrait can reveal elements of their own soul.

You are confronted with yourself. Each year

The pouches fill, the skin is uglier.

#11

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Samuel Palmer and Chagall

by Elizabeth Jennings

‘Samuel Palmer and Chagall’ explores the essence of art, contrasting styles to highlight the universal role of love.

You would have understood each other well

And proved to us how periods of art

Are less important than the personal

Worlds that each painter makes from mind and heart.

#12

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Standing Female Nude

by Carol Ann Duffy

‘Standing Female Nude’ by ‘Carol Ann Duffy’ speaks on the roll of the artist model in the studio of a unfeeling painter who sees her only as a means to an end.

Six hours like this for a few francs.

Belly nipple arse in the window light,

he drains the color from me. Further to the right,

Madame. And do try to be still.

#13

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Visit to an Artist

by Elizabeth Jennings

‘Visit to an Artist’ reflects on her admiration for David Jones, blending art, nature, and the unspoken bonds of friendship.

Window upon the wall, a balcony

With a light chair, the air and water so

Mingled you could not say which was the sun

And which the adamant yet tranquil spray.

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13 Expressive Poems about Paintings

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