A Look at Love

8/14/2019 A Look at Love

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A Look at Love

It¶s February and love is in the air. With St

Valentines Day fast approaching everything is

suddenly love themed. This article, you¶ll notice, is

no exception! Yes«even I decided to hop on thelove bandwagon and write on the subject this

month. Love is after all, without doubt, the most

common of creative subject matter; featuring

heavily in all art forms. Works of music, poetry,

literature, theatre, dance, film and of course art itself

are all too often inspired by love.

Throughout the history of human existence people tried to capture and express this,

perhaps the deepest of human emotions, through vast and varied creative expression.

In this article I wish to look at some of my personal favourite representations of love

in art. I believe that love, as a concept, can never truly be encapsulated in a painting or

a sculpture. It is too personal, too individual ± no two people¶s experience or understanding of love is exactly the same.

It is impossible for any artist ever to be able to produce a piece that represents a

universal idea of what love is. What art can do is represent the artist¶s own expression

of love, which we, the viewer, can take from what we will. Perhaps you share the

sentiment, you can relate to and feel what the piece is saying, or maybe you don¶t getit at all. And so, whilst some of these pieces that I have chosen seek to capture the

intimate nature of the feeling, some the lust, some the passion and others even the pain, all are love themed, and all are remarkable to me!

Edvard Munch ± Kiss

by the Window (1892)

The reason I chose this

painting by Edvard

Munch, is that I find it

highly intriguing. Munch

created a few variations of

this piece, experimenting

with slightly different

angles of the couple and

the pair¶s positioning in

front of the window.

What fascinates me is why he changed these little details and how they influence our

interpretation of the piece. Here we have what is commonly considered the finished,

final version of the painting, alongside an earlier etching. I think that the etching is

significant when considering the final work and it really adds to my appreciation of

the painting.



Although essentially they are the same couple, in the same embrace, in the samesetting, I think that they tell a very different story. The most obvious difference is that

in the etching the couple is in a state of undress. This clearly adds a more obvioussense of passion to the kiss. We can see how closely their bodies are pressed together.

There is nothing discreet or private about this embrace. They are naked right in front

of the window with the curtains open, and what¶s more, we can make out a row of

buildings opposite.

On the other hand the couple in the final version of the painting is clothed. We can see

that they are leaning in close to each other but their heavy dark clothing make this a

much more conservative embrace. Here they are not directly in front of the window

but more to the side with the drapes hiding them from the world. Here this moment is

private, between the couple« and us. The viewer is in a sense a voyeur. In the earlier

etching the embrace is more of a spectacle and as a result less intimate. Whilst both

images capture feelings of passion and lust, upon contemplation, perhaps we can see

that, because of its containment, there is more love and intimacy to be found in his

final masterpiece.

Dante Gabriel Rossetti,

Dante¶s Dr eam at the Ti me of

the Death of Beat r ice (1856)

One might assume upon looking at

the title of this piece and the name of

the artist that the painting was abouthim. This, however, is not the case.

The Dante in the title refers to DanteAlighieri (1265- 1321), the poet of

the middle ages, whose work

includes masterpieces such as TheDivine Comedy and La Vita Nuova.

Dante, the poet, was in love with a woman named Beatrice. He was in love with her throughout his life even though the pair only ever met twice, once when they were

children and once again years later when she simply saluted him in passing. From

their initial encounter in childhood he developed an ever-lasting unrequited love for

her, writing about her in much of his work.

After Beatrice¶s death Dante continued to write poetry in her memory: this collection

of poems is known as La Vita Nuova. This painting is a scene inspired by a story

within La Vita Nuova. Centuries later, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, the artist, became

enamoured by the work of his namesake and also developed a fascination with the fair Beatrice. Following the death of his wife she becomes the subject of much of his art

and the face of many of his females. In a way, in his art, Beatrice becomes symbolic

of his deceased wife.

This painting is Dante Gabriel Rossetti¶s interpretation of a scene where Dante is

dreaming. In this dream he is taken by the Lord, to Beatrice, his love, who is dying.

The Lord wakes Beatrice from her sleep and gives her Dante¶s heart to eat. Whilst the

painting is the artist¶s own version of this dream, rather than a literal depiction of the



scene described, it is nonetheless a very interesting piece and very relevant on thetheme of love in art. It would seem that both Dantes experienced an irrational

infatuation with this mysterious woman and this dream scene encapsulates somethingdeeply personal for them both. Knowing the story behind this painting makes it all the

more romantic, and indeed tragic. Dante, the poet, in this dream, is saying goodbye to

a woman whom he has idolised and adored from afar all his life. His heart has been

ripped out and devoured by love. Dante, the artist, is symbolically saying goodbye tohis dying wife. Heartache is a common side effect of love, and whilst all the paintings

of kisses are tender and sweet, there are few depictions more heart rending than the

story that this painting tells.

John William Waterhouse, La Belle

Dame S ans Mer ci (1893)

This painting illustrates a scene from the JohnKeats poem La Belle Dame Sans Merci.

I met a lady in the meads,

Full beautiful²a faery¶s child, Her hair was long, her foot was light,

And her eyes were wild. I made a garland for her head,

And bracelets too, and fragrant zone;She look¶d at me as she did love,

And made sweet moan.

(Extract from La Belle Dame Sans Merci).

Although many artists painted pieces inspired by this poem, this work is my personal

favourite. Here we see the knight, the protagonist of the poem, being lured into a kiss

by a mysterious beautiful fairy. He is clearly about to surrender to lust and temptation.

As a result of this indulgence he goes on to have a terrible nightmare. The meaning of the poem is open to interpretation; this painting however, simply captures this

beautiful, enchanting, lustful moment.

Roy Lichtenstein, The Kiss (1962)

Whilst some of the pieces that I have chosen illustrate

a specific story, the appeal of others stems from thefact that we can only speculate as to what is behind

the emotion of the scene. This is the case with this

painting. It is by pop artist Roy Lichtenstein and it isThe Kiss.

For such a small image it is crammed full of emotion,

passion and love. Real depth of feeling is evident in

every detail, and every detail is significant. There is a tangible intensity in the

embrace, from the tension in her hand as it grasps his shoulder and her burdened

brow, to the visible strength behind the manner in which he is kissing her cheek and

pushing his face against hers.



I love the fact that it is simply a close-up of the couple¶s embrace. Nothing else isshown. No clue as to who they are or what the background story is. We can all draw

our own conclusions from what we see in this piece. Hence I feel I may not be alonein my ability to relate to this painting: many may find a personal interpretation« an

experience, a feeling or a moment« Are they tears of joy or sorrow?

Gustav Klimt ± The Kiss (1907)

Klimt believed in the power of love in art. He set outto capture this power in his own artwork. Most of his

works depict scenes of love, passion, eroticism and thefemale body. Whilst all of his work is striking and

provocative, for me, they do not always evokethoughts of love. This piece, The Kiss, was created

during his ³golden period´, and is perhaps his most

celebrated piece. It is sensuous yet refined. It is tender,

soft and moving, but most importantly, it is a powerful

image. When I think of love in art this is the painting that comes to mind.

Passion, lust, tenderness, heartache, intimacy«whatever your personal experience of

love, there is a piece of art out there that shares your sensibility on the subject.

As St. Valentine¶s Day approaches, and you find yourself surrounded by the

commercial clutter that inevitably goes along with it (oversized cards with oversized prices!), think back to these more authentic sentiments, take your cue from cupid and

find a moment to appreciate the true creative expression of love!

A Look at Love

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