Carnival at Night 1898

Ferdinand du Puigaudeau painted this dreamy scene, *Carnival at Night*, during a time of great social change in France, as industrialization and urbanization were reshaping rural life. Here, we see a community gathered under the glow of the moon and carnival lights, their traditional costumes standing out against the modernizing world. The women, adorned in their distinctive bonnets, form a sea of white, their presence a powerful assertion of cultural identity. What does it mean to hold onto these identities? And what are the forces that threaten to erase them? Puigaudeau’s impressionistic style captures the shimmering, almost dreamlike quality of the carnival, but it also hints at the transience of these traditions. The painting invites us to consider the complex relationship between identity, tradition, and modernity. It’s a reflection on the collective experience of holding onto the past while stepping into the future.