Le baiser (The Kiss)

A work by the French painter Carolus-Duran. “Le baiser” means “The Kiss” in French.

Although Duran would later gain fame as a portrait painter for the upper classes, this work is an autobiographical and deeply personal double portrait (self-portrait) depicting an intimate moment between himself and his newlywed wife (the painter Pauline Croizette).

The frank depiction of the affection between a real, secular couple, rather than mythological or historical figures, was highly innovative for its time.