The Four Seasons
1850
Henri-Pierre Picou's 'The Four Seasons' is a gorgeous four-panel allegory that takes you on a journey through the year. In the top left, Spring bursts forth with lovers nestled in a vibrant floral arch, while Summer heats up in the top right with figures cooling off in a river. The bottom left captures the bounty of Autumn with a grape harvest, but the mood shifts dramatically in the bottom right, where Winter is depicted as a somber, cloaked figure wandering through a barren, ghostly landscape. It's a beautiful example of 19th-century academic art, showing how the seasons of nature mirror the stages of human life.