Art Musings & Mysteries

"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...

Like all movement, dancing can seem difficult to capture in a painting. But this doesn’t mean that artists haven’t tried and succeeded. People dancing in art aren’t all that uncommon. Whether alone or in a pair, each of these paintings depicts dancers. Artists throughout the ages have been intrigued by the idea of capturing both the emotion and purpose of the dance’s steps. Here are a few paintings that attempt to do just that: Bold Ballet Anna Pavlova as Bacchante. 1911. John Lavery In this portrait, famous ballerina Anna Pavlova is depicted by Irish painter John Lavery (1856-1941) dancing in the “Autumn Bacchanal” from Glazunov’s “The Seasons”. She’s dressed as a bacchante – a female follower of Dionysius in Greek mythology. Anna Pavlova is shown throwing her head back in abandon, while gracefully lifting a scarlet veil over her head. She wears a simple white tunic with grapes in her hair, symbolizing autumn and wine’s intoxication. Her dance seems to mimic a trance, which...