Picasso. Parable. Noticing

Nick Owen. The Magic of Metaphor. 2011 Crown House Publishing Limited

Picasso was on the point of becoming famous. He was travelling first class from Nice to Paris. Sharing his compartment was a wealthy American art collector.

The American thought he recognised the artist. "Hey, aren´t you Mr Pablo Picasso?"

"Si," said Picasso.

"Listen," said the collector, "Why don't you paint people as they really are?"

"Que?" said Picasso.

"Why don't you paint people as they really are? I mean, if I look at one of your paintings it just ain't real. You got an eye in the middle of the forehead, a nose where an ear should be. It´s just ridiculous. It's all wrong. It's not real and it's not art!"

"I don't know what you mean," said the artist.

"Art should reflect life. Hold a mirror up to nature and all that. You gotta paint people as they really are."

"I still don't understand," said Picasso.

"OK wise guy, I'll show you what I mean." The American took his wallet from his jacket, opened it, and took out a photograph.

"Look," said the American. "This is my wife, that's how she really is."

"Oh, now I understand," Picasso said in a serious manner. ,,Your wife is extremely thin and about 10 centimetres tall."

Primary source: Anecdotal.

Secondary source: There is a version in Joseph O'Connor & John Seymour, Introducing NLP. See bibliography.