Le voyage raconté et illustré par Bébé 1863

This lithograph, "Le voyage raconté et illustré par Bébé," by Lorenz Frølich, presents a tender depiction of a man holding a child. He holds the child up high, as if presenting him. Below, rough sketches evoke a child's imaginative journey by train, sea, and encounters with new friends. The act of holding a child and presenting it to the world echoes countless depictions throughout art history. Think of Renaissance portraits of Madonna and Child, where the presentation of the infant Christ symbolizes hope and renewal. Here, the child's raised hand, almost in a gesture of blessing, taps into a deep, subconscious yearning for innocence and discovery. Such gestures resonate across time, adapting to different cultural contexts but retaining a core emotional power. These simple strokes trigger within us all our own memories of exploration, adventure, and youthful bravado. This image is not just a story of a child's travels, but an invitation to revisit our own journeys of self-discovery.