Picasso & Gertrude Stein

When Picasso decided to paint a portrait of his friend
Gertrude Stein, he selected his colors very carefully.

Gertrude can only be painted in shades of brown, he said,
set against patches of black, all somber and intellectual.

Her body was large, corpulent, and heavy set,
but her mind had to be portrayed for its lightness and agility.

The problem emerged when he began depicting her face.
He couldn’t get anything right. It looked too big.

Then it looked too small. 99 times she sat for him.
Very patient she was, but it just wasn’t working.

Finally, Picasso despaired. He feared he was about to fail.
So, he picked up a brush and started painting from memory.

He sat down while Gertrude Stein wasn’t there
and portrayed the her he knew to be always there.

Her present absence was made up for by her constant presence.
He drew the essence of her face in the shape of an African icon.

She was blunt. I don’t like that she told him upon first seeing it.
You will, he replied smugly. You will, and she did.