Le Chiffre d'Amour 1750 - 1792

This delicate print, "Le Chiffre d'Amour" by Nicolas de Launay, captures a woman absorbed in carving a symbol into a tree, while her loyal dog sits beside her. This act of marking a tree is far from simple. The image of carving into a tree, often with lovers' initials, is a motif that stretches back to antiquity. Think of ancient Roman pastoral poetry, where trees become silent witnesses to love's vows. Here, the woman etches perhaps her and her lover's initials, a cipher of love into the bark, symbolically rooting their bond in the natural world. The tree as a symbol of life, growth, and connection, is deeply embedded in our collective consciousness. Consider how this act mirrors the cave paintings of our ancestors, marking their presence and stories onto stone. The gesture is a primal urge to make permanent the ephemeral, to declare "I was here, I loved." We see this impulse recurring through history. This connection to shared human experiences resonates across centuries, evolving and adapting, yet forever tied to our deepest emotions.