With Les contes cruels de Paulo Rego, the great Portuguese painter is the first living artist to have a solo show at the Musée de L’Orangerie – a show widely reported in the press and praised by the critics. This is also the French public’s first big chance to get up close to a body of work they have no more than glimpsed in the past. João Pinharanda, an art historian and critic, explores the history (and the psychology) of France’s relationship with this oeuvre and its violence, seeking an answer to a puzzle that might only now be within our grasp. Deciphering this enigma is a crucial step towards discovering both the drive behind Rego’s work and the imprint of a culture.