- Luis López Cabán
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- Au rendez-vous des poétes
Au rendez-vous des poétes (2025)Acrylic painting by Luis López Cabán
360 x 270 x 1.5cm (unframed) / 360 x 270cm (actual image size)
£4,968.69
Original artwork description
Au rendez-vous des poètes, 2025
Diptych
The title Au rendez-vous des poètes may be translated as “At the poets’ rendezvous” or “A meeting of poets.” This work is conceived as a diptych, two paintings presented together as a single composition, forming a large-scale piece. With this work I wanted to evoke the atmosphere of literary encounters that were once common in cafés, especially in cities such as Paris, where writers, philosophers, and intellectuals gathered to discuss books, ideas, and the evolving landscape of literature.
In this diptych I imagine a quiet yet intense meeting between three intellectual figures seated around a café table. They might be writers, philosophers, or poets — characters engaged in a conversation that we cannot hear but instinctively sense as profound. The scene attempts to capture that suspended moment of analysis and exchange, where literature becomes the center of dialogue. In a certain way the painting also acts as a small homage to that intellectual world of the last century, a culture of conversation and reflection that today seems to have partly faded. For this reason the work carries a quiet sense of nostalgia, an intentional evocation of a lost atmosphere where ideas were discussed slowly, attentively, and with passion.
On the table lie three books. Two of them are clearly visible: Ulysses by James Joyce and Hopscotch (Rayuela) by Julio Cortázar. Both works are among the most influential experiments in modern literature. They challenge traditional narrative structures and redefine what a novel can be. Fragmented, open, and unconventional, each book represents a literary mosaic that reshaped the possibilities of storytelling. In the painting they seem to coexist on the table almost like two powerful presences, admiring each other while quietly competing for a position in the conversation. The third book remains hidden, an unknown text that invites speculation, perhaps representing the unwritten or yet-to-be-discovered work.
The conversation between the figures remains invisible, but the atmosphere suggests an animated intellectual exchange. Two of the characters possess double heads, a visual metaphor for the multiplicity of thought, the coexistence of opposing ideas, or the inner dialogue that often accompanies intellectual life. The central figure, absorbed in reading, remains singular, momentarily detached from the conversation while engaging directly with the text.
The background is deliberately empty. Only the faint presence of cigarette smoke defines the space, dissolving into the air and creating a subtle atmosphere of reflection. The smoke becomes a visual trace of thought itself, ideas that appear, drift, and evaporate.
Beneath the table, however, lies a hidden tension. An axe is embedded in the single leg that supports the table, suggesting that the entire structure could collapse at any moment. This detail refers to a famous idea by Franz Kafka: “A book must be the axe that breaks the frozen sea within us.” The phrase is written on the back of the painting as a quiet testimony to the work’s underlying concept.
A cat sits quietly beside the table, calmly licking its paw. Its presence may seem secondary at first glance, yet it introduces an atmosphere of quiet observation. The cat becomes a symbol of stillness and independence, both detached from the conversation and subtly integrated into it. As a domestic animal so often associated with writers, solitude, and contemplation, the cat appears almost as a literary companion, an animal presence that belongs naturally to the world of books, cafés, and reflection.
Through this image I wanted to evoke the richness of intellectual exchange and the quiet intensity of shared thought. The act of sitting together to discuss an idea, a book, or a question has long been part of literary and philosophical culture. The scene itself came to me one day while I was sitting at the café Les Deux Magots in Paris. I held the image in my mind during the rest of the journey and painted it once I returned home. In the painting the figures gather around the table as participants in a moment of focused reflection and dialogue. The axe embedded in the table’s leg does not suggest destruction, but rather echoes Kafka’s famous metaphor of literature as a force capable of breaking through our inner inertia and awakening deeper awareness. In this sense, the encounter becomes a space where literature, thought, and conversation meet to build understanding, curiosity, and intellectual discovery.
Artist note:
The artwork offered here is a unique original painting created by me in 2025 in Hamburg.
My paintings are part of private collections in Berlin, San Juan, Los Angeles, Dallas, Paris, Buenos Aires, Singapore, Bogotá, New York, Michigan and Madrid.
Please note that the perception of colors may vary slightly depending on individual monitor settings.
If you have any questions about my work or would like additional photos or videos with more detailed views of the painting, I would be happy to provide them. Please feel free to contact me.
SHIPPING DETAILS
◾ This painting will be carefully packed with the utmost attention and shipped free of charge, rolled in a strong protective cardboard tube to ensure safe international transportation. The artwork will be sent via UPS with tracking and is expected to arrive within approximately 4–7 days, depending on the destination country.
◾ Rolled canvas works can easily be stretched onto wooden stretcher bars and/or framed by a professional framer upon arrival.
◾ The artwork is signed by the artist.
◾ Please note that the artwork is not externally framed. The canvas is shipped rolled for safer international transport and can be professionally stretched or framed once received.
◾ Buyers are responsible for any import duties, customs fees, or local taxes that may apply depending on the regulations of the destination country.
◾ Returns are accepted within 14 days of delivery. In the event of a return, the buyer is responsible for the return shipping costs, and the artwork must be returned in its original condition and packaging.
◾ If you have any questions regarding shipping, packaging, or the artwork itself, please feel free to contact me. I will be happy to assist you.
Materials used:
Acrylic on canvas
Details:
- Acrylic painting on Canvas
- One of a kind artwork
- Size: 360 x 270 x 1.5cm (unframed) / 360 x 270cm (actual image size)
- Signed on the front
- Style: Surrealistic
- Subject: People and portraits
Tags:
#acrylic#big painting#james joyce#cat painting#julio cortázar#diptych painting#ulysses book#literature inspired#modern art#rayuela book
Free returns14 day money back guaranteeLearn more
Original artwork description
Au rendez-vous des poètes, 2025
Diptych
The title Au rendez-vous des poètes may be translated as “At the poets’ rendezvous” or “A meeting of poets.” This work is conceived as a diptych, two paintings presented together as a single composition, forming a large-scale piece. With this work I wanted to evoke the atmosphere of literary encounters that were once common in cafés, especially in cities such as Paris, where writers, philosophers, and intellectuals gathered to discuss books, ideas, and the evolving landscape of literature.
In this diptych I imagine a quiet yet intense meeting between three intellectual figures seated around a café table. They might be writers, philosophers, or poets — characters engaged in a conversation that we cannot hear but instinctively sense as profound. The scene attempts to capture that suspended moment of analysis and exchange, where literature becomes the center of dialogue. In a certain way the painting also acts as a small homage to that intellectual world of the last century, a culture of conversation and reflection that today seems to have partly faded. For this reason the work carries a quiet sense of nostalgia, an intentional evocation of a lost atmosphere where ideas were discussed slowly, attentively, and with passion.
On the table lie three books. Two of them are clearly visible: Ulysses by James Joyce and Hopscotch (Rayuela) by Julio Cortázar. Both works are among the most influential experiments in modern literature. They challenge traditional narrative structures and redefine what a novel can be. Fragmented, open, and unconventional, each book represents a literary mosaic that reshaped the possibilities of storytelling. In the painting they seem to coexist on the table almost like two powerful presences, admiring each other while quietly competing for a position in the conversation. The third book remains hidden, an unknown text that invites speculation, perhaps representing the unwritten or yet-to-be-discovered work.
The conversation between the figures remains invisible, but the atmosphere suggests an animated intellectual exchange. Two of the characters possess double heads, a visual metaphor for the multiplicity of thought, the coexistence of opposing ideas, or the inner dialogue that often accompanies intellectual life. The central figure, absorbed in reading, remains singular, momentarily detached from the conversation while engaging directly with the text.
The background is deliberately empty. Only the faint presence of cigarette smoke defines the space, dissolving into the air and creating a subtle atmosphere of reflection. The smoke becomes a visual trace of thought itself, ideas that appear, drift, and evaporate.
Beneath the table, however, lies a hidden tension. An axe is embedded in the single leg that supports the table, suggesting that the entire structure could collapse at any moment. This detail refers to a famous idea by Franz Kafka: “A book must be the axe that breaks the frozen sea within us.” The phrase is written on the back of the painting as a quiet testimony to the work’s underlying concept.
A cat sits quietly beside the table, calmly licking its paw. Its presence may seem secondary at first glance, yet it introduces an atmosphere of quiet observation. The cat becomes a symbol of stillness and independence, both detached from the conversation and subtly integrated into it. As a domestic animal so often associated with writers, solitude, and contemplation, the cat appears almost as a literary companion, an animal presence that belongs naturally to the world of books, cafés, and reflection.
Through this image I wanted to evoke the richness of intellectual exchange and the quiet intensity of shared thought. The act of sitting together to discuss an idea, a book, or a question has long been part of literary and philosophical culture. The scene itself came to me one day while I was sitting at the café Les Deux Magots in Paris. I held the image in my mind during the rest of the journey and painted it once I returned home. In the painting the figures gather around the table as participants in a moment of focused reflection and dialogue. The axe embedded in the table’s leg does not suggest destruction, but rather echoes Kafka’s famous metaphor of literature as a force capable of breaking through our inner inertia and awakening deeper awareness. In this sense, the encounter becomes a space where literature, thought, and conversation meet to build understanding, curiosity, and intellectual discovery.
Artist note:
The artwork offered here is a unique original painting created by me in 2025 in Hamburg.
My paintings are part of private collections in Berlin, San Juan, Los Angeles, Dallas, Paris, Buenos Aires, Singapore, Bogotá, New York, Michigan and Madrid.
Please note that the perception of colors may vary slightly depending on individual monitor settings.
If you have any questions about my work or would like additional photos or videos with more detailed views of the painting, I would be happy to provide them. Please feel free to contact me.
SHIPPING DETAILS
◾ This painting will be carefully packed with the utmost attention and shipped free of charge, rolled in a strong protective cardboard tube to ensure safe international transportation. The artwork will be sent via UPS with tracking and is expected to arrive within approximately 4–7 days, depending on the destination country.
◾ Rolled canvas works can easily be stretched onto wooden stretcher bars and/or framed by a professional framer upon arrival.
◾ The artwork is signed by the artist.
◾ Please note that the artwork is not externally framed. The canvas is shipped rolled for safer international transport and can be professionally stretched or framed once received.
◾ Buyers are responsible for any import duties, customs fees, or local taxes that may apply depending on the regulations of the destination country.
◾ Returns are accepted within 14 days of delivery. In the event of a return, the buyer is responsible for the return shipping costs, and the artwork must be returned in its original condition and packaging.
◾ If you have any questions regarding shipping, packaging, or the artwork itself, please feel free to contact me. I will be happy to assist you.
Materials used:
Acrylic on canvas
Details:
- Acrylic painting on Canvas
- One of a kind artwork
- Size: 360 x 270 x 1.5cm (unframed) / 360 x 270cm (actual image size)
- Signed on the front
- Style: Surrealistic
- Subject: People and portraits
Tags:
#acrylic#big painting#james joyce#cat painting#julio cortázar#diptych painting#ulysses book#literature inspired#modern art#rayuela book