Wanted to capture the truth

Of perception, so he scrutinized subjects,

Determining everything in nature is modeled

After the sphere, the cylinder—in us the retina,

Its rods and cones. He carried canvases

Around the countryside, contemplating

The problem of representation, hoping

To analyze a simple reality underlying vistas

Indescribably complex. Objects’ veiled skeletons

Become the source of their beauty.

Disagreeing with the objectives of every artist

But himself, his solitude afforded

The meditation that led to the last stretch

Of his life. If he ever had it, he lost interest

In character, his sitters’ faces distorted

To fit the composition of a given scene.

It appears this was another way of reimagining

The landscape into Thinking.