Summer

In 1882, Paris’ Hôtel-de-Ville reopened and represented multiple artists in its palace. Pucks de Chavannes was one of the most prominent figures among them. In 1887, Puvis commissioned the decorations for one of the reception rooms, the Salon de Zodiac. The most notable feature of this room was the theme of the four seasons. Puvis reduced the program to 2 seasons, only summer and winter. When Puvis started with summer, he faced a lot of difficulties. The mural itself was astonishing, but he faced problems placing the doorway, which came smack in the middle of the painting, creating a blockage and obstruction in its art and beauty. Later in 1891, he redesigned the painting into a smaller version. He simplified the background to a serene tone with flat colours. He pushed the figures closer to create a more intimate scene, a community lounging at the lake in summer, with kids playing and fussing, maidens lounging and chatting, and fishermen working. Marius Vachon described the scene as, “filled with joy, happiness, and rest and the apotheosis of life…. Women bathe and rest by the bank of the river, everything has a voluptuousness of cool water, of warm and perfumed air, caressing their nude bodies…. A meadow adorned with flowers, a field of ripe wheat, a forest of chestnut and beech trees, an arm of the river and wooded hills form the background of this sunny landscape. This is nature in all the splendor of its beauty, its well-being, its fecundity.”