visit to Leonardo da Vinci, a day spent with Maurice Latour de Saint-Quentin, and a reflection on the life of the cosmopolitan artist Marie Bashkirtseff. In the first part, Barrès reflects on da Vinci’s artistic genius and psychological depth, pondering the nature of creativity and the struggle between intellect and emotional expression. The second essay centers on Latour de Saint-Quentin, emphasizing the artist's ability to capture the human soul through portraiture, and Barrès highlights the ephemeral nature of existence as observed in art. Finally, in the tribute to Bashkirtseff, he presents her as a symbol of modern sensibility, a figure marked by a restless quest for meaning amidst the burden of societal expectations. Through these essays, Barrès asserts the importance of understanding and articulating the inner workings of the human soul. (This is an automatically generated summary.)