Springtime (Pierre Auguste Cot)

Le Printemps is an oil on canvas painting by French artist Pierre Auguste Cot, from 1873. It is held in the collection of the Metropolitan [Museum of Art], in New York.

Description

Springtime was painted by Cot in 1873. The painting was first exhibited at the 1873 Paris salon, where it was well-received; the work would go on to become Cot's most-successful work of art, and was often copied in other mediums. In terms of the painting itself, Cot's work depicts a young couple locked in an embrace on a swing amid a forest or garden. The two are wearing classical garb, and are seemingly enthralled by each other, described by one source as "drunken with first love".