A SPRINGTIME AND A STORM – Pierre Auguste Cot: the fascinating and mysterious odyssey of a masterpieces of art

Everyone loves to travel, but not everyone loves to travel the same way. All you have to do is have the time in your life. Meeting Benches. The way to make the world a better place is easy. Choose a bench, where you can publish what you have painted or written, a review of a book that you’ve read, or the story of a journey that you have made. Past and Present are here and now. Our proposal call any web-traveler to sit into Meeting Benches info@meetingbenches.com to share emotions, observing new creative horizons, also visiting the MOMA in New Ypork.

The odyssey of this masterpiece – reproduced millions of times – is one of the fascinating and mysterious stories of the art world. “Springtime” is the single greatest image of young romantic love ever conceived (poignantly touching the hearts of millions people over the last 125 years). A young maiden hangs from her lover’s neck, she smiles to meet his protective gaze. Her gown, more than slightly reveals her perfect sensual form. Hanging on heavy ropes (suspended from large branches in a thick forest), the two are seated on a swing.

In 1873, Pierre August Cot painted “Springtime”. In the decades that followed it became a icon of sensibilities and taste. Many were – amongst history’s greatest artistic geniuses – painting timeless images, capturing the essence of the universal human condition, but “Springtime” is the single greatest image of young romantic love ever conceived. Oil on canvas, with dimensions 213.4 x 127 cm, this painting is a gift of Steven and Alexandra Cohen, and waiting for you at MOMA in New York. http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/438158

This flirtatious duo, painted with notable technical finesse, reflects Cot’s allegiance to the academic style of his teachers (Bouguereau and Cabanel). That picture was Cot’s greatest success, widely admired and copied in engravings and tapestries. John Wolfe (its first owner), awarded the work a prime spot in his Manhattan mansion, where visitors delighted in this Arcadian idyll. Catharine Lorillard Wolfe (Wolfe’s cousin), later commissioned a similar scene from Cot, “The Storm”, now also in the Metropolitan’s collection. (The Met Fifth Avenue, 1000 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10028).