Love is a universal feeling that implies a great sentimental and physical attraction that each human being expresses in a particular way.
This feeling has been represented through a set of images that have become romantic symbols such as red hearts, roses or Cupid.
However, artists , using their expressive abilities and perception of love, have created countless works of art that capture and represent the nature, strength, beauty and passion associated with this feeling.
These works have the ability to recreate the senses of love through their aesthetics, details and lights capable of captivating the viewer.
The lovers of Rene Magritte
The lovers , Rene Magritte, 1928
In The Lovers , Rene Magritte draws the public’s attention by painting a couple whose faces are covered with a damp cloth that prevents their faces from being seen.
Many have been the interpretations made to this work, among which stand out the representation of a secret love, the impossibility of smelling, touching and kissing. It is a painting whose image exposes the prohibition in which the protagonists find themselves, the prohibition or the impediment of being able to feel each other.
However, part of the inspiration for this work that captures the pain of an invisible or lost love, Magritte uses the memory of the anguish he feels when he sees his lifeless mother being rescued from the river, whose face was covered with a wet shirt .
Rene Francois Ghislain Magritte (1898-1967) was a Belgian painter whose works are characterized by following the surrealist style, exposing his perception of reality with images that evoke dreams.
Auguste Rodin’s kiss
The kiss , Auguste Rodin, 1888-1889
The kiss is a sculpture that exposes through universal body language, the strength, passion and lust that a kiss can mean between lovers. In this way, Rodin uses the posture of the naked bodies of his protagonists as a resource.
This sculpture is inspired by the tragic romance lived by the Italians Paolo Malatesta and Francesca da Rimini, immortalized and popularized by the writer Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) in his work the Divine Comedy.
Francois-Auguste-Rene Rodin (1840-1917) was a prominent French sculptor of the Impressionist current, whose aesthetics allowed him to break with the trends of his time and generate a new modality and representation of sculpture.
The kiss by Gustav Klimt
The Kiss , Gustav Klimt, 1907-1908
The kiss is a painting of the current of art nouveau (modernism) and one of the most important works of Klimt. In it, the expectation prior to a kiss is represented, using the romantic posture of wrapping a hug. For many, this painting symbolizes reconciliation, the embrace of desire, beauty and the eroticism of love.
The painting The Kiss stands out for the way Klimt expresses love, using the bright colors of gold and yellow tones that were unique to religious paintings. He also draws attention for the mixture of techniques, such as the use of geometric shapes that simulate mosaics.
Gustav Klimt (1862-1918) was an Austrian painter and representative of the modernist movement in Vienna.
The kiss by Pablo Picasso
The Kiss , Pablo Picasso, 1969
This painting shows the portrait of a kiss in which the faces are joined by the same line, making the two a single face.
This painting seems to have the intention of exposing the intimacy and fusion that occurs between two people when kissing. It is a romantic image whose lines and colors reflect serenity and tenderness.
Picasso’s Kiss is a painting painted in the most mature stage of Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), a renowned Spanish painter and sculptor. He is considered one of the most important exponents of cubism and avant-garde of the 20th century.
In bed, the kiss by Henri Toulouse-Lautrec
In bed, the kiss , Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, 1892
In Bed, The Kiss was one of several paintings commissioned from Henri Toulouse-Lautrec to decorate a Parisian brothel. The image represents a couple in their privacy, naked, embracing, giving each other a tender and passionate kiss.
However, as it was a couple of women in love, it was a provocative and daring image for the time.
Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa (1864-1901) was a French Post-Impressionist painter and poster artist who used to portray the nightlife of Paris.
The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli
The Birth of Venus , Sandro Botticelli, 1484
The Birth of Venus is a painting inspired by Ovid’s Metamorphoses . This work represents the birth of love and beauty, which is represented by the goddess Venus who appears naked and on a large shell on the seashore.
Currently, this beautiful work can be seen in the Uffizi Gallery, in Florence (Italy).
Sandro Botticelli (1445-1510) was a leading Italian painter. Among his masterpieces is The Birth of Venus , one of the most recognized paintings of Renaissance art and appreciated throughout history.
Kiss II , Roy Lichtenstein
Kiss II , RoyLichtenstein, 1963
Kiss II is one of the most iconic depictions in comics and one of Lichtenstein’s most famous paintings. This work is characterized by the representation of a passionate kiss in comic format, which together with its intense colors give the kiss the strength of the world of superheroes.
Roy Lichtenstein (1923-1997) was an American painter, known for being one of the most important representatives of pop art or pop art , standing out especially for his use of comics.
