10 Famous Paintings of Love and Romance

"Love does not consist in gazing at each other, but in looking outward together in the same direction." –Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds, or bends with the remover to remove. O no! It is an ever fixed mark that looks on tempests and is never shaken.” Sonnet 116, William Shakespeare

'Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. – Alfred, Lord Tennyson, In Memoriam A.H.H.

Art is often said to mirror life, and it would be a poor mirror if it didn’t reflect one of life’s greatest mysteries that is love. Throughout the ages painters have been trying to capture its spirit in their artworks. Here's a selection of love-themed paintings from both famous and more obscure artists:

When Love is Happy

“A Couple in the Garden”. 1885. Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Pierre-Auguste Renoir, along with other Impressionists, is one of the most recognizable painters of the 19^th century. His painting “A Couple in the Garden” shows a pair sitting at a table in the shade of a spreading tree in the garden. On the table before them lie the man’s hat and the lady’s bouquet, possibly given to her by the young man beside her. The bouquet is composed of simple field flowers – daisies and poppies. While the young man’s attention is fully focused on the lady, she is looking up, as if caught at the moment of realizing they’re being observed.

The painting’s palette is bright and sunny, as is often the case with Renoir’s light-filled paintings, where form is often secondary to color. Notice the lack of detail on the tree’s leaves, for instance, and the way blurred spots of color convey sunlight and movement. It’s not based on any literary source, but rather, like the rest of Renoir’s art, shows a glimpse into the artist’s world of dappled sunlight and color strokes.

When Love is Sad

“The Meeting on the Turret Stairs”. 1864. Frederic William Burton

The Irish painter Frederic William Burton’s painting depicts a scene from the tragic medieval ballad of Hellelil and Hildebrand. Hellelil is a princess who falls in love with one of the bodyguards appointed by her father to protect her. The story ends tragically for the couple, when Hellelil’s brothers are ordered to murder her lover, and he kills them each in turn in single combat. Then he dies of his wounds, followed by Hellelil. 

Of all the possible dramatic events in the story, Burton focuses on the lovers’ tender farewell. The romantic scene has been voted Ireland’s favourite painting in 2012. Apart from its interesting composition that places the two figures on the stairs, with neither looking each other in the eyes, the painter also chooses contrasting colors of red and blue to show that these two belong in different worlds. It’s intriguing that the painting is a watercolour, instead of the oil paint usual for such large paintings. According to research, Burton turned to this medium because he couldn’t tolerate the smell of oil paints or the solvents used for them.

When Love is a Comedy

“The Stolen Kiss”. 1787. Jean-Honore Fragonard

Traditionally attributed to the French rococo painter Jean-Honore Fragonard, the painting is a gallant scene (or scene galante), a type of genre painting characteristic of 18^th century art. Unlike Watteau’s large canvases with numerous figures flirting and conversing in sumptuous landscape settings, the scene is a light-hearted episode in daily life.   

A young lady has apparently entered a room to recover her striped silk scarf, and you can see the rest of the company through the door to the right, sitting at cards. A young man, practically a boy, is seen by the door on the left of the painting, and he is clearly making the most of finding the girl alone by kissing her on the cheek. The girl looks surprised or perhaps anxious that her absence may be commented on, but she leans towards the young man, suggesting that she’s a willing party to the kiss. Perhaps the two even arranged this brief meeting to have a moment together while their older relatives are busy with their card game.

Fragonard’s airy and light manner complements the playful subject with its clandestine meetings, resembling something out of “The Marriage of Figaro”. The painting was owned by Stanisław August Poniatowski, King of Poland.

When Love is a Tragedy

“A Huguenot, on St. Bartholomew's Day”. 1852-53. John Everett Millais

It was a common trend in the Victorian era for a painting to tell a story. Each detail contributed to the reading of the narrative behind the painting. This was further complemented by the title, which would be printed on a label on the painting’s frame, sometimes accompanied by a quote from a poem. Victorian artists were often skilled storytellers, arranging “clues” within the painting that helped the viewer to quickly decipher the meaning.

The full title of this painting is quite long and tells a story in its own right: “A Huguenot, on St. Bartholomew's Day, Refusing to Shield Himself from Danger by Wearing the Roman Catholic Badge”.

Huguenots were 16^th-century French Protestants, who strove for religious freedom along with political reform. Most of the French Huguenots came from the southern parts of France and supported the young King Henry of Navarre.

When the two opposing parties, the Huguenots and the Catholics, finally negotiated peace that was to be sealed by the marriage of Henry of Navarre to Marguerite of France, the sister of Charles IX, many hoped for a better future. However, on the night of the 23^rd of August, 1572, the St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre wiped out thousands of Huguenots who had come to Paris to attend the wedding, together with the most distinguished members of the Huguenot nobility.

Millais adds further drama to this horrifying event by depicting a love story between a Catholic woman and a Huguenot man. She entreats him to protect himself by wearing the white badge, which was rumored to have been the Catholics’ secret sign during the night of the attack, and he refuses, not wanting to betray his king and his faith. Two people caught on different sides in a war, each staying faithful to themselves and what they stand for. According to Victorian symbolism, the red petals of a crushed flower at the lovers' feet don't bode well for the chances of the young man's survival. 

When Love is New

“Love”. 1955. Ilya S. Glazunov

Ilya Sergeyevich Glazunov was a Soviet Russian artist with a distinctive style who worked in various techniques and formats, ranging from large triptychs to book illustrations. His drawing technique combined coal, sepia, and dry pastels to create gentle gradations from the more vivid lines of the figures in the foreground to a blurred and hazy background.

St Petersburg features prominently in his illustrations for the works of Dostoevsky and Pushkin, and where he depicts his native city in all its different moods. In “Love”, the artist shows a couple embracing with the windows of the nighttime city shining in the building behind them.

When Love is Old

“Under the Mistletoe”. 1919. Norman Rockwell

It’s more common to see younger people portrayed in love stories, no matter whether it’s in art, film, or literature. Yet, love knows no age. “Under the Mistletoe” by Norman Rockwell shows an elderly couple about to kiss under the mistletoe, looking completely in love. Despite the somber black and white colours of their clothes, their figures form a heart. 

Norman Rockwell painted this illustration for the 1919 Christmas cover of The Literary Digest, a weekly magazine he collaborated with for many years.

When Love is a Promise

“Acme and Septimius”. 1868. Frederic Leighton

Leighton’s “Acme and Septimius” illustrates a poem by the Roman poet Catullus, describing a serene idyll of constant love with two lovers exchanging vows of faithfulness.

Leighton has chosen a circular format, with the lovers sitting on a marble bench, surrounded by flowers, fruit, and greenery. Leighton’s Academic style lends itself perfectly to depicting classical figures; the couple looks almost like a sculptural composition. Roses and oranges, seen behind the bench which the lovers are occupying, are both notable symbols of marriage.

When Love is an Adventure  

“What freedom!” 1903, Ilya Repin

“What freedom!” by Repin shows a couple standing on a quay, with waves sweeping over it. Their faces are happy, with the woman laughing and holding on to her hat to prevent it from being swept off by the wind, and the young man elated, possibly reciting a poem and opening his arms as if he means to embrace the whole world. The powerful waves and tossed clouds mirror the sense of unrestricted freedom. The northern look of the sea suggests that it is likely the Baltic Sea, which Repin was familiar with because of his home on the shores of the Gulf of Finland.

The theme of the painting remains obscure. Perhaps the painter simply meant to capture the thrill of adventure and excitement often felt when standing on the seashore. Yet some interpretations suggest that the young people are students who have finally passed their exams and now feel the world open up before them. Others read a subtle political message of oncoming change felt by the artist. The artist is not referring to the Revolution, which would come in 1917. Rather, Repin painted “What freedom!” in 1903, when hopes of a more liberated government were abounding in the intellectual circles.

When Love is a Blow to the Heart

“The Blow to the Heart” (Le coup au cœur) (1952), Rene Magritte

Rene Magritte is one of the most subtle of the Surrealist artists. His paintings have a strange, cinematic effect. And “The Blow to the Heart” is both straightforward – love hurts, and enigmatic – the gentle rose is blended with a formidable dagger. It’s as if the rose is portrayed as a living being, armed with a dagger, perhaps to defend itself from those who decide to pluck it.

The strange, bare landscape adds to the mystery of this painting. All the details are realistic, although somewhat stylized, but together they convey a new meaning. Many Surrealists used symbols in a personalized way that often had little to do with cultural or traditional meanings. Magritte blends the cultural meanings with his own interpretations, adding depth to his paintings. Roses feature in other paintings by Magritte, as well as solitary sea landscapes.

When Love Heals

“The Union of Souls” (Kindred Souls). 1896. Max Švabinský

Love is being a part of each other’s life in the best possible way for the one you love. In “The Union of Souls”, Max Švabinský portrays a bond that provides companionship and healing. Max Švabinský (1873-1962) was a Symbolist Czech painter active in Prague.

The woman in the painting is dressed in a flowing white robe, a device common for depicting souls in Western art. She is embracing the man’s head, while he looks on ahead, as if he cannot see her, but can only feel her presence. While the white of her robe contrasts with the stark black of the man’s clothing, the two figures are linked by the common color red in the woman’s hair and the man’s shirt. Red is often seen as the color of love and kinship, which is reflected in the other translation of the painting’s title – “Kindred Souls”.

 

Further Reading:

The Meeting on the Turret Stairs. Clare Library, Clare County Library

The Most Evocative Paintings of Love in Art History, The Artsper Magazine