Fall in Love With 8 of Art History's Most Romantic Masterpieces (2024)

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By Kelly Richman-Abdou and Margherita Cole on August 20, 2023

Fall in Love With 8 of Art History's Most Romantic Masterpieces (1)

Throughout art history, the concept of love has attracted artists from all walks of life. Depicted in different kinds of styles and rendered in a myriad of mediums, the amorous concept continues to captivate viewers time and time again.

While there are countless alluring examples of love in art, we've compiled a collection of eight pieces that stand out from the rest. Whether highlighting a marble kiss, a glistening gold embrace, or even big block letters, these heartfelt masterpieces prove that art and love are a perfect match.

Table of Contents hide

1 Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss by Antonio Canova

2 The Kiss by Francesco Hayez

3 Dance in the Country by Pierre-Auguste Renoir

5 The Kiss by Auguste Rodin

6 The Kiss by Gustave Klimt

7 The embrace (Lovers II) by Egon Schiele

8 Love by Robert Indiana

Here are eight of the most renowned romantic paintings and sculptures and forms of love art throughout art history.

Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss by Antonio Canova

Fall in Love With 8 of Art History's Most Romantic Masterpieces (2)

Antonio Canova, “Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss,” 1793 (Photo: Stock Photos from peacefoo/Shutterstock)

Title

Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss

Artist

Antonio Canova

Year

1787–1793 (First version)

Medium

Marble

Size

61 in x 66 in (155 cm × 168 cm)

Location

Louvre (Paris, France)

Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss is one of Neoclassical art‘s most beloved sculptures. Inspired by the love story of Cupid, the Roman god of love (adapted from the Greek Eros), and Psyche, a human-turned-goddess, this marble masterpiece was carved by Italian sculptor Antonio Canova in 1793.

The piece depicts the touching moment Psyche—who was put into a deep, death-like sleep after opening a forbidden box— is awakened by a kiss from Cupid, her husband. Canova skillfully captures the heightened and humanist emotion of the scene by paying special attention to the lifelike expressions and intimate positioning of the figures.

“Cupid lifts his beloved Psyche in a tender embrace, his face close to hers,” the Louvre, where the piece is currently housed, explains. “Psyche lets herself sink slowly backwards, languorously taking her lover’s head between her hands.”

The Kiss by Francesco Hayez

Fall in Love With 8 of Art History's Most Romantic Masterpieces (3)

Francesco Hayez, “The Kiss,” 1859 (Photo: Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)

Title

The Kiss

Artist

Francesco Hayez

Year

1859

Medium

Oil on canvas

Size

43.3 in × 34.6 in (110 cm × 88 cm)

Location

Pinacoteca di Brera (Milan, Italy)

Francesco Hayez's The Kiss evokes a powerful sense of romance and is one of the most famous kisses in Western art. It depicts a man and woman, both dressed in Medieval clothing, locked in an intense embrace. The couple is tucked away in a softly lit staircase, sharing what appears to be a secret kiss before the silhouette in the corner comes their way.

The original version of this painting was commissioned by Count Alfonso Maria Visconti and was rendered in oil in 1859. However, Hayez produced other versions of this painting in oil and watercolor, one of which was exhibited at the World Fair in Paris in 1867.

Hayez's The Kiss represents many of the core values of Italian Romanticism, including an emphasis on emotion and nostalgia for the past. Some interpret the man as a soldier who is kissing his lover before leaving for war, underscoring patriotism, which was an important ideal during the Risorgimento.

Dance in the Country by Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Fall in Love With 8 of Art History's Most Romantic Masterpieces (4)

Pierre-Auguste Renoir, “Dance in the Country,” 1883 (Photo: Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)

Title

Dance in the Country

Artist

Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Year

1883

Medium

Oil on canvas

Size

71 in × 35 in (180 cm × 90 cm)

Location

Musée d'Orsay (Paris, France)

French artist Pierre-Auguste Renoirwas not only a leading figure in 19th-century art, but he also had a central role in theImpressionist movement. Dance in the Country is one of three paintings Renoir executed that show a couple dancing in different environments. This piece depicts Renoir's friend Paul Lhôte and a woman named Aline Charigot, twirling underneath a chestnut tree.

The woman's face is jubilant as she gazes directly at the viewer, while the man keeps his head close to her ear. Overall, the painting contains many traits characteristic of Renoir's distinctly soft style, including delicate brushstrokes and a warm color palette. There is an undeniable sense of joy in the painting which makes it especially romantic.

In Bed, The Kiss by Henri Toulouse-Lautrec

Fall in Love With 8 of Art History's Most Romantic Masterpieces (5)

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, “In Bed, The Kiss,” c. 1892-1893 (Photo: Wikimedia Commons Public domain)

Title

In Bed, The Kiss

Artist

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

Year

1892–1893

Medium

Oil on cardboard

Location

Private Collection

Post-Impressionist painter and graphic designer Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec is known for his posters, prints, and paintings ofturn-of-the-century Paris. While most of these works capture the City of Love's spectacular nightlife, some offer a glimpse into more intimate situations, like In Bed, The Kiss.

Created in 1892, this oil painting shows two women passionately kissing in bed. The pair are most likely Parisian prostitutes, one of Toulouse-Lautrec's favorite and most visited artistic subjects. Like his other works set in brothels,In Bed, The Kiss offers an intimate look at the lives of these women. What sets this piece apart, however, is the inherent emotion of the scene,which the artist emphasizes with his characteristically energetic brushwork and an expressive color palette.

Toulouse-Lautrec also explored brothel life in his Elles portfolio, a collection of lithographs. Though celebrated today, these pieces were not well-received during the artist's lifetime, as the public was not interested in “mundane intimacy.” The Museum of Modern Art explains: “Elles proved to be a commercial failure for its publisher—Gustave Pellet, who specialized in erotica—because it delivered not an exotic fantasy, but rather an intimate portrayal of women Lautrec knew firsthand and the milieu in which they lived and worked.”

The Kissby Auguste Rodin

Fall in Love With 8 of Art History's Most Romantic Masterpieces (6)

Auguste Rodin, “The Kiss,” 1901 (Photo: Wikimedia Commons Public domain)

Title

The Kiss

Artist

Auguste Rodin

Year

1901

Medium

Marble

Size

71.5 in x 44.3 in x 46 in (181.5 cm × 112.5 cm x 117 cm)

Location

Musée Rodin (Paris, France)

French sculptor Auguste Rodin completedThe Kiss, a beautifulmarble sculpture,between 1888 and 1898. With its “fluid, smooth modeling, [a] very dynamic composition and [a] charming theme” (The Rodin Museum), this work is one of modern art‘s most acclaimed sculptures.

It was intended to adorn the Gates of Hell,a double-door sculpture inspired by Dante’s Inferno. Because of this source, Rodin opted to include a relief showingFrancesca da Rimini—a real-life13th-century noblewoman whose tale was featured in Dante's Divine Comedy—in the throes of an affair with her brother-in-law.

After completing the sensual piece, however,Rodin deemed it “a largesculptedknick-knack following the usual formula.” He decided to exclude it from the doors' final design and instead adapted it—a decision that has given us the free-standing sculpture we know and love today.

The Kiss by Gustave Klimt

Fall in Love With 8 of Art History's Most Romantic Masterpieces (7)

Gustav Klimt, “The Kiss,” 1907-1908 (Photo: Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)

Title

The Kiss

Artist

Gustav Klimt

Year

1907-1908

Medium

Oil and gold leaf on canvas

Size

71 in × 71 in (180 cm × 180 cm)

Location

Galerie Belvedere (Vienna, Austria)

Austrian artist Gustav Klimt paintedThe Kiss at the height of hisGolden Phase. During this luminous period, Klimt experimented with his work, crafting avant-garde paintings withpronounced planes, intricate patterns, and delicate detailing made ofgold leaf.The Kiss embodies this ethereal approach and highlights another one of Klimt's interests: portraying intimate subject matter.

The Kiss shows a loving couple mid-embrace. As they kneel in an otherworldly garden, the man leans in to kiss his partner, delicately cradling her face and running his hand through her flower-embellished hair. With her eyes peacefully closed, the woman wraps her arms around him, accepting and anticipating her lover's kiss.

Klimt never disclosed the identities of the figures. However, today, the couple is widely believed to have been inspired by the artist and his companion (and perhaps lover) Emilie Flöge,a Viennese fashion designer. Much like the painting itself, their relationship is shrouded in a glittering mystery.

The embrace (Lovers II) by Egon Schiele

Fall in Love With 8 of Art History's Most Romantic Masterpieces (8)

Egon Schiele, “The embrace (Lovers II),” 1917 (Photo: Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)

Title

The embrace (Lovers II)

Artist

Egon Schiele

Year

1917

Medium

Oil on canvas

Size

39.3 in × 66.9 in (100 cm × 170 cm)

Location

Belvedere (Vienna, Austria)

Austrian artist Egon Schiele was a major figurative painter of the 20th century. Within his short career, he created over 3,000 works on paper and around 300 paintings on canvas. Best known for his contorted portraits, Schiele rejected society’s conventional view of beauty and preferred to capture the true—and often ugly and explicit—emotions of his subjects.

His painting The embrace (Lovers II) is an excellent example of his raw depictions of people, featuring a naked couple who are locked together in an intense embrace. Both the man and the woman have their arms wrapped around each other as their dark hair intertwines. They are nestled on top of a wrinkled white sheet, while the rest of the background is left with a rough yellow and black texture.

Loveby Robert Indiana

Fall in Love With 8 of Art History's Most Romantic Masterpieces (9)

Robert Indiana, “Love”(Photo: Stock Photos from Christian Mueller/Shutterstock)

Title

LOVE

Artist

Robert Indiana

Year

1970 (first version)

Locations

United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, South America

Since 1970, Robert Indiana's large-scale Love sculptures have popped up in cities around the world. While these Pop Art pieces have taken on a romantic meaning, their original intention was less Valentine's Day-related and more in the Christmas spirit.

In fact, Indiana came up with the familiar design—characterized by a stacked set of seraph letters spelling out the word, “LOVE”—for the Museum of Modern Art's holiday card. Therefore, it is not surprising that the motif's origins are actually rooted in Indiana's religious upbringing. “I, as a child, was raised as a Christian Scientist,” Indiana explained in a letter to an art collector, “and the world LOVE was indelibly imprinted in the mind, for there is that slightly different phrase, ‘God is Love,' on every front wall of every one of Mary Baker Eddy’s houses throughout the world.”

Over the years, Indiana'ssculptures have taken on a lovey-dovey life of their own. While the late artist had a love-hate relationship with the wildly popular series (he famously said, “It was a marvelous idea, but it was also a terrible mistake”), they will undoubtedly continue to inspire romantics for years to come.

This article has been edited and updated.

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Fall in Love With 8 of Art History's Most Romantic Masterpieces (2024)

FAQs

Why do people love art history? ›

Art history provides a means by which we can understand our human past and its relationship to our present, because the act of making art is one of humanity's most ubiquitous activities. As an art historian you will learn about this rich and fundamental strand of human culture.

What did Romantic artists love specifically in their art? ›

In Romantic art, nature—with its uncontrollable power, unpredictability, and potential for cataclysmic extremes—offered an alternative to the ordered world of Enlightenment thought. The violent and terrifying images of nature conjured by Romantic artists recall the eighteenth-century aesthetic of the Sublime.

Why am I interested in art history? ›

By honing skills of close looking, description, and the judicious use of historical sources, art history offers tools and vocabulary for interpreting the wealth of visual culture that surrounds us, as well as building a historically grounded understanding of artistic production in varied social and cultural contexts.

What are the 5 characteristics of romantic art? ›

Characteristics of Romanticism:
  • Emphasis on emotions and individualism.
  • Celebration of nature and the natural world.
  • Interest in the supernatural and mysterious.
  • Focus on the imagination and the subconscious.
Sep 10, 2023

What is the relationship between history and art? ›

The close relationship between history and art is a reflection of the cultural, social, political, and economic values of a particular period. Art has a unique ability to serve as a historical document, capturing and preserving the experiences and perspectives of individuals, communities, and society as a whole.

Why art is so important? ›

Art can communicate information, shape our everyday lives, make a social statement and be enjoyed for aesthetic beauty.

What is the power of art in Romanticism? ›

Romanticism celebrated the individual imagination and intuition in the enduring search for individual rights and liberty. Its ideals of the creative, subjective powers of the artist fueled avant-garde movements well into the 20th century.

What is the focus of Romanticism art? ›

Romanticism emphasized the individual, the subjective, the irrational, the imaginative, the personal, the spontaneous, the emotional, the visionary, and the transcendental.

What impact did Romanticism have on artists? ›

Romanticism prioritized the artist's unique, individual imagination above the strictures of classical form. The movement emphasized intense emotion as an authentic source of aesthetic experience.

What does art history teach you? ›

By studying art history, you learn to draw conclusions, make inferences, argue a point, and increase your skills such as critical thinking, visual comprehension, and written communication.

Does art have to be beautiful? ›

For most people, good art should radiate beauty, harmony and balance. In this sense, one can say that good art is aesthetic for them. For others, art is also a means to convey a complex thought or statement, which also creates an artistic point of view that is not necessarily aesthetic.

Is art history hard? ›

I think there are two things to consider, firstly, art history requires a lot of reading and studying. You cannot normally slack through it, you need to be present, pay attention, understand concepts, and study—providing the program you're in is a good one and challenging, that is.

Who is the father of Romanticism? ›

Jean Jacques Rousseau, the father of romanticism, (Immortals of literature)

What are three elements that are found in romantic art? ›

Answer: Nature, imagination, and sublime. Sublime is defined as: of such excellence, grandeur, or beauty as to inspire great admiration or awe. And finally, imagination is defined as: the faculty or action of forming new ideas, or images or concepts of external objects not present to the senses.

What are the three core principles of Romanticism? ›

Imagination, emotion, and freedom are certainly the focal points of romanticism.

How does art history affect society? ›

Art influences society by changing opinions, instilling values and translating experiences across space and time. Research has shown art affects the fundamental sense of self. Painting, sculpture, music, literature and the other arts are often considered to be the repository of a society's collective memory.

What art can tell us about history? ›

Historical paintings, sculptures, photographs, and architecture can offer vivid expressions of a particular moment in history. Historians have developed methods that allow them to carefully analyze historical documents. In a similar way, art historians have developed methods to understand works of art.

How did art help history? ›

A piece of art can provide a window into a historical time period for students. Art is an important and perhaps unexpected tool in teaching history. Photos, drawings, and paintings can communicate an abundance of information about historical events.

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