Raoul Dufy-Style (Poetry)

15th June 2025
DUFY, Raoul 1877 - 1953 French painter and designer whose style
is characterized by swift calligraphic draughtmanship and bright colouring.


He paints in some ways
like a child who fills
every inch of space
with blocks of colour
sampling the spectrum

His Eiffel tower
pins the vibrant scene
to nowhere else but
Paris and the Seine
chunks of blue and pink

in short busy strokes
between the bridges
and splodges of trees
vague cartoons almost
a scribble of growth

Buildings ranked en masse
a city’s presence
squashed along the banks
simple suggestions
of architecture

Above them weather
an orange sun plus
rain’s diagonal
equals a rainbow
arcing high with hope