Le Jeune Martyre

Have you ever met an artistic piece where you just can’t take your eyes off? I did.

 I personally believe that unless you say your ideas or opinions out loud, your feeling cannot be clearly expressed. Now what contradicts this point of view is ART. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE art - paintings in particular. If I ever travel abroad, one of my favorite ways of spending the day is going to art galleries. Louvre, National Gallery, Monet Exhibits,  you name it. I like going from picture to picture with an audio tour, getting to know the weird, inspiring and eccentric minds of artists. 

 For me, the audio tour plays an important aspect while looking at paintings. It provides me with a detailed background story of every piece which could be quite impossible to figure out by just looking at it.  But there was a piece that truly fascinated me without a single explanation - Le Jeune Martyre by Paul Delaroche. 

 I spotted the piece right after I saw the Mona Lisa, walking around the museum thinking about how big it is. It literally took my breath away. I don’t know if it’s the colors, or the way her hair and dress drifts in the water or the mysterious figure standing at the back. It looks a bit like ophelia  but there’s sadness and sort of “peace” to the picture. 

 It is striking how Delaroche can express soo much in a painting. A picture is worth a thousand words. But to me this painting was worth a million words. 

The ability of a painter to express everything in one painting is utterly amazing.