This cahier is a visual sketchbook for an exhibition by Marlene Dumas at the Museum of Cycladic Art in Athens, in dialogue with the museum's collection. Although the exhibition has been postponed towards 2025, this anticipatory publication already arose from Dumas' enthusiasm and affection for this combination. The enigmatic Cycladic antiquities, dating from 3000-2000 BC, speak to us in the same timeless language as Dumas' contemporary works.

"I can resist everything", wrote Oscar Wilde, "except temptation". What is it that makes a painting so attractive, so irresistible? In this collection of essays, Dominic van den Boogerd writes with passion about the exhibitions he has seen, the painters he has spoken with, and the talks by artists that he has organised as the director of De Ateliers in Amsterdam. About the pleasures and pitfalls of painting, forbidden favourites and the flirtation between the art of painting and other muses.