Throughout history, love has been one of the themes frequently portrayed by painters. After all, what could be more romantic than the act of trying to capture such a delicate feeling on canvas? P55 has created a list of the most beautiful and evocative portraits of love by artists who have expressed in new ways the power and mystery of desire, commitment and love.
The kiss in Gustav Klimt, 1908
The canvas was painted between 1907 and 1908, belonging to the "golden phase" of Gustav Klimt. In the center is identified a couple sharing a moment of complicity and passion. The figures are intensely adorned with delicate gold, silver and platinum flakes and an abundance of geometric shapes. The intensity of the colors gives a sense of volume to the outline of the bodies.
Cupid and Psyche by Antonio Canova
Italian neoclassical artist Antonio Canova's sculpture Cupid and Psyche depicts the Greek myth. Aphrodite/Venus, goddess of love and beauty, becomes jealous of mortal Psyche's beauty. The goddess wanting revenge, asks her son Cupid to stick one of his arrows in a disgusting mortal, so that he falls in love with Psyche. However, Cupid ends up skewering himself and falls in love with Psyche. In the sculpture, in a very neoclassical format, Psyche is shown in a deep sleep, after having opened a bottle that she had promised not to open. Cupid revives his beloved and ends up asking Zeus/Jupiter to transform her into an immortal, which is granted. This story is an allusion to the transcendence of the soul (psyche) and the conquest of immortality, after earthly life and the encounter of the human soul with heavenly love.
The kiss from Toulouse-Lautrec
Toulouse-Lautrec was fascinated by Paris nightlife, having painted scenes of everyday life in brothels during the 1890s. the brothel, its residents and visitors, while they worked and rested. From these contemplations he created sixteen portraits that demonstrate a close and intimate observation of compassion for the subjects, without any sense of sensationalism or voyeurism.
“The kiss” portrays a moment of intimacy between two prostitutes who kiss on the bed of a brothel room. In addition to canvas paintings, Toulouse-Lautrec also produced posters for nightclubs, whose design innovation began to define what would later become known as Art Nouveau.
Kiss II and Kiss V in Roy Lichtenstein
This is one of the most popular portraits of love by the American artist. Roy Lichtenstein. The work, inspired by comics, portrays the reunion or farewell of the couple through the facial expression of the female character who is crying intensely. Thus, he manages to convey to the viewer the intense passion felt between these two figures.
The lovers by Magritte, 1928
The figures kiss with a fabric barrier, thus making it impossible to see their features. This is a feature present in several of the artist's works, being connected to a childhood memory of Magritte's mother's suicide. This is a provocative painting with several possible interpretations, which conveys a sense of frustration to viewers. It thus reveals the true nature of lovers to have the inability to demonstrate their true nature even to the most intimate passions.
Country Dance by Renoir, 1883
This work of art is part of a series of three paintings, made in 1883. These represent Renoir's transitional period, in which the painter stopped representing everyday life in Paris and began to take more interest in individual compositions, with figures in the foreground and without much concern for the representation of the background. In Country Dance, Renoir depicts his friend, the painter Paul Lhote, dancing with Aline Charigot, Renoir's future wife. There are some objects surrounding the characters like in the background on the right, a hat on the ground and a couple of faces. Despite the radiant involvement between the figures, it is the female character's face with a contagious smile that appeals to the viewer's eye.
The birthday in Marc Chagall, 1915
In honor of his beloved wife Bela Rosenfeld, Marc Chagall created the paintingThe birthday”, in which these two are represented in the center of the screen. Beauty finds herself with a bunch of flowers practically flying, waiting for her kiss. Marc Chagall who is represented levitating and approaching his wife. The absence of gravity is a metaphor, alluding to the love felt by the couple, which is so great that it is capable of taking them to heights. Around the couple, there is a meticulously decorated environment and through the windows it is possible to see the environment outside.
