Paintings

A man flees his fate. And it is precisely by trying to escape it that he ends up fulfilling it from beginning to end. But the most terrible thing about this story is that the tragedy begins before the man himself even exists. And when he finally discovers the truth, it is already too late to save himself.

For centuries, millions of people have looked at the same scene and reached an almost inevitable conclusion: the woman portrayed by Jan van Eyck appears to be about to give birth. Her rounded belly, the hand gathering her dress, and the solemnity of the encounter seem to announce the arrival of new life.

Imagine a spring afternoon in a quiet corner of the French countryside. The sun shines gently through the branches of the trees, and a light breeze makes the leaves whisper ancient songs of nature. It is in this idyllic setting that Pierre Auguste Cot invites us to step into his painting, "Spring."

There is a hill, a windy Sunday, and a woman turning to look at the painter. She carries a pale parasol and a veil lifted by the air. Lower down, among the grass, a little boy peeks out. No one speaks in the painting, yet everything moves: the clouds, the dress, the grass bending as if the sky were breathing.