Les deux vaches et la paysanne 1970

Jean Hugo painted "Les deux vaches et la paysanne" with oil on canvas, and it's like stepping into a dream of the French countryside. The scene is built up with simple shapes and a palette of soft blues, yellows, and greens. I imagine Hugo layering those flat planes of color, building up the composition like a puzzle. There's a peacefulness that comes from the simplified forms, but also a bit of the uncanny—those houses with their blank windows, the cows just hanging out. It reminds me of Balthus, this odd stillness. Look at that little figure in red, walking into the scene—are they going somewhere, or just passing through? It makes me think about the act of painting itself, how each brushstroke is a step into the unknown. Like Hugo, we're all just trying to find our way through the landscape of our own making.