#romance

Apparently the colours aren't random: her pale blue and his red were meant to echo the flags of the alliance fighting Austria at the time this was painted. Some readings even spot a dagger half-hidden in his cloak — less a lover saying goodbye, more someone about to go do something dangerous.

Wikipedia says he painted this to get himself into the French academy, and they couldn't fit it into any category they already had, so they invented one — well-off people mucking about outdoors in silk. People still argue about whether this lot are setting off or coming home.