The art world is often known for drama and rivalry. It’s also a busy place with auctions, parties and a lot of overseas travel to art fairs and biennials. So, does anyone really have any time to have a romantic relationship at all? Of course they do! Romance has been a favourite theme for artists for centuries, just look at all the complicated love triangles within Greek and Roman myths. And, since it’s the month of love, we thought we’d compile a list of our favourite kisses in art history.
The Kiss, Francesco Hayez, 1859
This kiss looks like something out of a film, and in fact, it inspired the 1954 film Senso. As though coming back from a night on the town, this kiss takes place at night, with the shadow of a stranger being visible in the left-hand corner. So you could say that this piece is both dreamy and creepy at the same time. But, what love story isn’t fraught with drama?
The Kiss, Auguste Rodin, 1889
The couple in Rodin’s most famous work is Paolo and Francesco, characters from Dante’s Divine Comedy. Rodin’s almost other-wordly love work depicts a love that could never quite be. Alas the lovers in the story were killed by Francesca’s husband when he found the pair in each other’s arms.
Pygmalion and Galatea, Jean-Leon Gerome, 1890
This is one for real art lovers. Pygmalion, a king and sculptor in Greek mythology, fell in love with a sculpture (Galatea) that he carved. We just love to see an artist that in love with his craft.
In Bed, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrex, 1892
Perhaps the most tender and intimate place to be kissed is in bed with your lover. Toulouse-Lautrec’s painting shows two women, with the image believed to depict women living in a brothel. Whatever the work’s meaning, there is a clear sense of warmth and love between the two women.
The Kiss, Brancusi, 1907-8
Just look at this pair, they are so in love that their arms wrap around each other and become one. Brancusi’s dreamy stone work is making us all feel a little more amorous.
The Kiss, Gustav Klimt, 1907-1908
Quite possibly the most famous kiss in art history, Klimt’s kiss is dripping in gold and sparkle. Believed to be modelled on the artist and his lover Emilie Floge, it is a kiss that has inspired others for more than a century.
Birthday, Marc Chagall, 1915
Have you ever felt so in love that you have levitated into the air and bent over backwards to give your lover a kiss? No? Us, neither. But we’re all hopeful that one day we’ll find a love like that of Marc Chagall and his wife Bella Rosenfeld.
The Kiss, Many Ray, 1922
This kiss looks like an x-ray, and in fact, it kind of is. The work is a “rayogram”, an invention by Man Ray where the x-ray effect is created by placing objects on a sheet of photosensitized paper and exposing it to light. The resulting work looks like the reveal of a hidden love, and we love it.
The Lovers, Rene Magritte, 1928
Magritte’s surrealist work shows a couple kissing with fabric covering their faces. Perhaps a depiction of a love that cannot be, it reminds us of the hoops and hurdles we sometimes have to jump through during romantic relations.
We Rose Up Slowly, Roy Lichtenstein, 1964
Ok, so this couple are just about to kiss, but the romantic tension and feeling of emotion that Lichtenstein creates is just iconic. Straight out of a comic book, we know this is going to be a great love story.
Text Lizzy Vartanian
