Love in a Garden
/ Marina - Imaginibus
Image Source: Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
This painting, this fête galante, full of lovers in a garden, is a celebration of flirtation and love. While the young lovers are the focal point of the painting, a full half of the painting is dedicated to the landscape, to the architecture, to the physicality of the scene.
As I looked at this painting by Nicolas Lancret, newly acquired by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, I was reminded of something. Years ago, on a summer's day in Paris, I decided to take a camera with me on my jog through the Luxembourg Gardens. I was in a good mood that day as I made my way through the flowers, perhaps under the influence of the happiness that comes from being in a new relationship. The man I had met a month earlier? He's now my husband!
I took that old footage and made a short video, celebrating being in love in a garden—and the garden itself!
This is an installment of this month's creativity theme of CELEBRATION. If you missed it, check out a description of the project here!
Address: 1380 rue Sherbrooke Ouest, Montréal ∣ Métro: Station Peel or Station Guy-Concordia (Green Line) ∣ Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 5pm, major exhibition open until 9pm on Wednesday
NOTE: The MMFA is free this December (except the main temporary exhibition)!
