皮耶‧奧古斯特‧寇特（Pierre Auguste Cot, 1837-1883）是法國十九世紀晚期的學院主義畫家。1873年，寇特以【春天】（Le Printemps）一舉成名。進而在1880年延續【春天】的主題與細膩、甜美的畫風創作【暴風雨】（The Storm，原作現藏於大都會博物館）。該作甫一展出除了引發評論家們對題材的討論外，亦吸引許多人的目光，因此寇特曾複製許多【暴風雨】的油畫。而此一圖像也多次出現織毯與瓷器上 。

奇美博物館現藏【暴風雨】一作，即為目前少見的油畫複製品。畫中描繪一對在山林間奔跑的男女。本畫作主要描繪一對男女在山林間奔跑的情景。兩位主題人物位於畫面中心，男左女右並肩相倚急於奔離現場之狀：女子右手搭在男子右肩上，左手高舉過頭並抓著飄揚於身後的黃色布巾，而男子則是左手摟向女子腰際並將她緊貼於懷，同時也高舉右手與女子同握一條布巾，而隨風揚起的布巾在他們身後形成一道圓弧狀遮頂的屏障。透過女子瞟向畫面右上方的皺眉神情，不僅可見遠方來勢洶洶且夾帶著烏雲、閃電和雷擊的暴風雨；更可推知兩人同握的布巾即為遮避風雨之用。然而，有別於女子略顯焦急的皺眉神情，男子含情脈脈地望著女子臉龐且微微揚起嘴角的樣貌，彷彿流露出男子正享受著此刻與女子奔跑在山林間的時刻。此外，從兩人彼此搭肩、摟腰等親密的動作，亦表現出兩人之間互相信任、依賴的情感。

女子身穿輕薄、透明白裙，男子穿戴皮毛、腰繫號角，相較於後方風雨交加的晦暗天色，兩人在畫家刻意營造的光線照耀下格外醒目。構圖安排上，畫家利用畫面左下角的淺坡岩石和石縫間竄生的雜草對應遠方山丘上枯竭的樹木，此佈局營造了視覺上的平衡效果；此外兩人身後層層交疊的山陵，則是緩緩帶出畫面的深度。畫家以極為細膩、柔順的筆法和鮮明、清亮的粉白、黃色調，刻劃出主角們完美無瑕的面容與細緻肌膚。兩人彼此依偎的動作、輕盈的步伐，以及沐浴在和煦陽光下的情景，不僅和遠方暴風雨陰鬱氛圍形成強烈對比，更營造出一種浪漫、愜意的氣氛。(徐鈺涵)

Pierre Auguste Cot (1837-1883) was a French artist in the Academicism style from the late 19th century. The 1880 work L'Orage/The Storm (original housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art) fueled much discussion among critics and attracted much attention. Cot therefore reproduced many versions of The Storm and the image also appeared on many tapestries and ceramics.

The Storm housed at Chimei Museum is one of the rarely-seen reproductions. The painting depicts a man and woman running through a forest. The two main characters appear in the center of the scene. The man is on the left while the woman is on the right, running side by side. The woman's right hand is placed on the man's right shoulder, her left arm is high over her head holding the yellow towel behind them. The man has his left arm around the woman's waist, while his right raised hand is also grasping the towel along with the woman. The towel billowing behind them forms a protective arc-shaped barrier. In contrast to the furrowed brow and slightly worried expression on the woman's face, the man is gazing upon the woman tenderly. With his slightly upturned lips, it appears that the man is enjoying this moment of running through the forest with the woman. Furthermore, the intimate gesture of running shoulder to shoulder and holding the other by waist shows the trust and dependence between the two.

In contrast to the dark and stormy sky behind them, the two appear very clearly within the light created by the artist. Using detailed and delicate brushstrokes, with bright powder-white and yellow tones, the artist creates flawless complexions for the two characters. The depiction of the two holding on to each other, their light footsteps, and the warm sunlight shining down on them form a powerful contrast to the storm behind them, creating a romantic and relaxed atmosphere. (Yu Han HSU)