Allegory Springtime of Life 1883

Editor: This is Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s “Allegory Springtime of Life” painted in 1883 using oil paint. It feels... dreamlike and unsettling to me. What do you make of it? Curator: Unsettling is spot on, I think. The chariot driven by shadowy figures, the snarling tigers, the bewildered child – it’s like a half-remembered myth, a story fraying at the edges. Perhaps it is less about "Springtime of Life," more an ironic comment from Lautrec about youthful vitality as a perilous state, dominated by instinct. Ever felt life was just a chariot being dragged by ravenous tigers, yourself clinging on for dear life? Editor: All the time, actually! It’s interesting you say that because my first instinct was something a lot more straightforward, something innocent even! The tigers did throw me off. Curator: Indeed. Innocent narratives and raw instinct wrestle constantly. Do you think it’s just me reading a bit of Lautrec’s famously turbulent personal life into the painting? Perhaps the wild energy of those animals felt real, even for one of France's artistic elite. It's easy to think of symbols when sometimes it just depicts feelings... raw emotion. Editor: I hadn't considered that. Now I’m not so sure! It adds another dimension to how you might read it. Curator: It all sits so precariously, that balance. Almost as precarious as painting it on oil, right? But if paintings were easy and stable, nobody would be as bothered looking, do you think? Editor: That's a brilliant way to put it! I will keep that in mind during my art history exam! Thank you. Curator: No problem! Art always teaches us more about ourselves.