The stories behind the paintings

In a sunlit wood, a young couple sit together on a rope swing. The girl, in a white gown so fine it is almost transparent, has wrapped her arms around the boy's neck and leans her cheek against his. He holds the ropes and gazes at her from a few centimetres away. Butterflies drift through the light, irises grow at their feet, and the whole forest seems to hold its breath. Springtime , shown by Pierre-Auguste Cot at the Paris Salon of 1873, was the greatest success of his career, and it is now one of the most loved French paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The picture below is our vintage poster version of the painting; the original is shown further down. Vintage art poster by Sapiens Verbum after Pierre-Auguste Cot, Springtime . Available from the Sapiens Verbum print shop. 🖼️ Get the vintage poster → License this image → Quick facts Artist: Pierre-Auguste Cot (1837–1883) Date: 1873 Medium: Oil on canvas, 211.6 × 127.8 cm Collecti...

A young couple runs barefoot along a forest path as a storm breaks over them. The girl holds a billowing golden cloth over both their heads with her raised arms and glances back over her shoulder, frightened, her thin white dress pressed against her body by the wind. The boy, bare-chested and dressed in an animal skin, runs at her side with his arm around her waist, looking not at the sky but at her. Behind them, lightning flashes through the dark trees. Pierre-Auguste Cot's The Storm , shown at the Paris Salon of 1880 and now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, is one of the most reproduced love scenes of the nineteenth century. The picture below is our vintage poster version of the painting; the original is shown further down. Vintage art poster by Sapiens Verbum after Pierre-Auguste Cot, The Storm . Available from the Sapiens Verbum print shop. 🖼️ Get the vintage poster → License this image → Quick facts Artist: Pierre-Auguste Cot (1837–1883...