DAY 365

A PICTURE’S WORTH 1000 200 WORDS

Lovers in a Park

FRANÇOIS BOUCHER, 1758

At first glance, French artist François Boucher’s Lovers in a Park appears quite innocent. The scenery is ornate and inviting, the colors are soft and cheerful, and the people appear to be at leisure—all in true Rococo form. If you pause a bit longer, however, you may notice some tension between the reclining lovers and the young maiden passing by. Is the man simply acknowledging the presence of the pretty flower gatherer, or is something more going on? Does he want to take some of her flowers to weave into his lover’s hair? Maybe he’s attracted to this pretty stranger. Or perhaps she isn’t a stranger at all.

This question becomes even more interesting when we take into account what historians know of Boucher’s love life. The painter was intimate with two women: His wife Marie-Jeanne Buseau, and his patron—who also happened to be emperor Louis XV’s mistress—Madame de Pompadour. It’s not difficult to imagine that Boucher may have been portraying in his painting his own love triangle. Since we can’t be sure if Lovers in a Park is an example of art imitating life, we’ll have to be content simply to enjoy it for its lush beauty and intriguing mystery. —DDG