Art's Last Bow

"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 Gard...

If you’ve seen this painting of a sailing ship, scattering water drops like diamonds in its wake, you may have wondered, as I did, about its story. The swirling stars and shimmering waves in jewel-like colors lend this marine painting a magical quality that is hard to forget. Adding to its mystery is the fact that it has an intriguing message of hope and struggle for liberty at its core.   Nec mergitur. 1904-1905. Ferdynand Ruszczyc Ferdynand Ruszczyc (1870–1936) was a Polish painter known for his atmospheric and stirring landscapes. He depicted the snowy forests and plowed fields of his home, imbuing his images with a legendary and epic depth and gravity. One of his most impressive paintings is Ziemia (Land), painted in 1898. Ziemia. 1898. Ferdynand Ruszczyc The painting currently known as Nec Mergitur was painted in 1904-1905. The title is part of the Latin phrase fluctuat nec mergitur “(she) is tossed by the waves but doesn’t sink.” This phrase has been the motto of...

When they hear ‘Biblical Easter art’ many people imagine yawn-worthy saccharine angels or moralizing pictures out of a children’s Bible. If that’s how you imagine Easter art, think again. Throughout many hundreds of years, the Easter story, as told in the New Testament, has been an inspiration and an artistic challenge for numerous painters. In fact, most of the great painters from the Renaissance up to the Post-Impressionists have painted at least one version of the Crucifixion during their careers. If one Biblical painting looks much like any other in your eyes, here’s a selection of Easter paintings that are different. Together with the stories that inspired them, these paintings focus on the human elements in the Biblical account of Christ’s death and resurrection. Not on chubby little angels playing lutes. Baroque Graveyard Scene by Rembrandt's Friend Why did the Jewish religious leaders resent Jesus so much that they had him arrested for blasphemy and crucified? Accor...