The art of love: 14 works that make our hearts beat faster
From Cupid to Kahlo to Keats — the artworks and objects that encapsulate the power of love
Gustav Klimt (1862-1918), The Kiss, 1907-08 (detail). Oil on canvas, 180 x 180 cm. Osterreichische Galerie Belvedere, Vienna, Austria. Photo: Bridgeman Images
Claudio CorsiSpecialist, Ancient Art & Antiquities
‘Cupid, the son of Venus, is the ultimate poster boy for Valentine’s Day. This Roman marble figure, dating to the 1st century AD, is modelled after a Greek bronze original made by the Greek sculptor Lysippos in the 4th century BC, and depicts the young god of love in the act of restringing his famous bow.
A Roman marble Eros unstringing his bow, circa 1st century AD. 37 in (94 cm) high. Sold for £1,571,250 on 4 December 2019 at Christie’s in London
‘It is an image filled with anticipation: for whom is his next irresistible arrow destined? For me this artwork is testimony to our enduring fascination with the invincible, inscrutable power of love.’
Harry SeymourContributor, Christies.com
‘A Foregone Conclusion (1885) by Lawrence Alma Tadema shows a Victorian courtship ritual set in the Classical world. As a young suitor climbs a set of marble stairs towards his lover and her attendant, he nervously fingers an engagement ring. The title of the work, however, lets the audience know the proposal will have a happy outcome.
Lawrence Alma Tadema, A Foregone Conclusion, 1885. Oil paint on wood, 42⅓ x 20½ in (62 x 52.5 cm). Photo: © Tate
‘The picture was commissioned by Sir Henry Tate, founder of the eponymous gallery in London, as a wedding present for his second wife Amy Hislop. In her will she gifted it back it to the institution that bears his name.’
Stephen JonesAssociate Vice President, Post-War & Contemporary Art
‘For centuries artists have sought to venerate the act of falling in love, but Felix Gonzalez-Torres’ “Untitled” (Perfect Lovers) from 1991, is one of the few works that seeks to represent love in all its imperfect glory.
Felix Gonzalez-Torres, "Untitled" (Perfect Lovers), 1991. Wall clocks and paint on wall. Overall dimensions vary with installation. Clocks: 14 inches diameter each (original size); 28 inches width overall. © Felix Gonzalez-Torres. Courtesy of The Felix Gonzalez-Torres Foundation. Digital image: The Museum of Modern Art, New York/Scala, Florence
‘Initially set to the same time, these two identical inexpensive battery-powered clocks will — over time — fall out of sequence, before eventually being reset and coming back into alignment again. A poignant and powerful metaphor not only for the passing of time, but also for the often imperfect, yet enduring nature of love.’
Alastair SmartAssociate Editor, Christies.com
Gustav Klimt (1862-1918), The Kiss, 1907-08. Oil on canvas, 180 x 180 cm. Osterreichische Galerie Belvedere, Vienna, Austria. Photo: Bridgeman Images
‘A man and woman are wrapped in a richly-embellished, gold robe. She seems to be kneeling, he seems to bend his head to kiss her — though it’s near-impossible to tell where her body ends and his begins. In an oft-quoted remark, Klimt said that “all art is erotic”. No painting sums this up better than The Kiss.’
Milo DickinsonHead of Department, Early European Sculpture & Works of Art
‘I discovered one of the most touching relics of love a few years ago when I walked into the great gothic fortress of Chichester Cathedral, near England’s south coast. There lies Richard Fitzwilliam and his wife Eleanor, side by side, his right hand ungloved and lightly resting in hers, bonded together in this stone tomb for eternity.
The tomb of Richard Fitzwilliam and his wife Eleanor. Photo courtesy Ash Mills and Chichester Cathedral
‘I later found out that the monument inspired a poem by Philip Larkin, with the immortal final line, “What will survive of us is love.”’
Jessica LackContributing Editor, Christies.com
‘“As a kid I liked Valentine’s Day, not because I was in love, necessarily, but because I liked the redness of it,” the American Pop artist Jim Dine once explained. In the 1960s he began looking for a way to create a self-portrait without painting his likeness. He wanted a shape that symbolised his creativity and passion: “a template for my emotions”.
Jim Dine (b. 1935), The Beast, 1999. 48 x 48 in (121.9 x 121.9 cm). Sold for $137,500 on 27 September 2018 at Christie’s in New York. Artwork: © Jim Dine / ARS, NY and DACS, London 2020
‘Dine chose a heart, and for more than half a century, this endlessly prolific artist has portrayed the shape in numerous ways. The Beast (1999), is a gutsy version, vibrantly red and pulsating with life.’
Mark WiltshireAssociate Specialist, Books & Manuscripts
‘A thing of beauty is a joy for ever’, begins John Keats’s Endymion, a poem about the journey to win the love of the moon goddess Cynthia. This first-edition copy, published in London in 1818, is itself a thing of remarkable beauty.
John Keats (1795-1821), Endymion: A Poetic Romance. London: Taylor and Hessey, 1818. Sold for £75,000 on 11 July 2018 at Christie’s in London
‘It shines in a spectacular binding by T.J. Cobden-Sanderson, the foremost English bookbinder of the late-19th century, whose design of gilt moons and hearts reflects the central theme of love in this Romantic poet’s finest love poem.’
Tessa LordAssociate Director, Post-War & Contemporary Art
‘Freud’s portraits of Lady Caroline Blackwood are some of the most intimate and moving depictions of an intense young love affair. Freud created various portraits throughout their relationship from 1950 until they separated in 1956, and although the portraits were at one stage thought aggressive, almost brutal in the way that they made a young girl seem older, they have since come to be seen as among the artist’s most tender and beautiful works.
Lucian Freud (1922-2011), Girl Reading, 1952. Oil on copper. 5⅞ x 8 in (15.2 x 20.3 cm). Private Collection. © The Lucian Freud Archive / Bridgeman Images
‘I love the idea of a young Freud and Lady Caroline Blackwood meeting at a formal ball, and shortly after, Caroline moving into Freud’s studio in West London. In 1952 they eloped to Paris, living for a year at the Hôtel la Louisiane. It was during this time that Freud created some of his most delicate portraits, including Girl Reading — a private moment of reflection, captured in a way that only a loved one could.’
Francis Bacon (1909-1992), Portrait of George Dyer Talking, 1966. Oil on canvas. 78 x 58 in (198.2 x 147.3 cm). Sold for £42,194,500 on 13 February 2014 at Christie’s in London. Artwork © The Estate of Francis Bacon. All rights reserved. DACS 2020
Rebecca RossSpecialist, Watches
‘This Patek Philippe enamel dome clock tells the story of Endymion, a handsome young shepherd prince who is adored by the moon goddess, Selene [also known as Cynthia]. One panel shows Cupid striking an arrow towards the couple in an evening setting. The young prince has been cast into eternal sleep by Selene so that she can kiss him every night without being seen.
Patek Philippe. A fine and unique gilt brass and cloisonné enamel solar-powered desk clock, signed by Marie-Françoise Martin. Sold for $106,000 on 13 June 2018 at Christie’s in New York
‘Most of these solar-clocks were commissioned by their owners to represent certain stories or their favourite motifs — in this case, bewitching love.’
Lucy ScovellEditor, Christies.com
‘Locked in a tender embrace, this young female couple are seemingly oblivious to the clamour of the outside world. Painted by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec in 1892, it is one of a series of four beguiling pictures depicting lesbian lovers in bed.
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901), Au lit: Le baiser, 1892. Oil on board, 17⅞ x 23 in (45.5 x 58.5 cm). Private Collection.
‘Lautrec was fascinated with Paris’s demi-monde, painting as many as 70 pictures of prostitutes. For me this is one of Lautrec’s most sensual, as it beautifully captures a forbidden love.’
Virgilio GarzaSenior Vice President, Latin American Art
‘I think this picture brilliantly represents the complex love between Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo. Painted shortly after the couple’s first marriage, Kahlo’s wedding portrait is a love letter to her husband, and Diego appears as a towering giant; a genius holding his palette and wearing the high-waisted pants and jacket that he donned as a militant uniform.
Frida Kahlo, Frida and Diego Rivera, 1931. Oil on canvas. 39⅜ x 31 in (100 x 78.9 cm). San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), CA, USA. Artwork © Banco de México Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico, D.F. / DACS 2020. Photo: Bridgeman Images
‘The couple’s bond is represented by the gesture of their two hands, yet their clasp is tentative, suggesting the problematic nature of their relationship. In the picture Frida is seemingly content to play the role of the adoring wife, and while her dainty figure and diminutive feet suggest vulnerability, ultimately, as always, she was fully in control of her narrative.’
Bruno ClaessensEuropean Head of Department, African & Oceanic Art
‘It’s very rare to encounter such an affectionate and intimate scene in Congolese art. These figures, with their hands resting on each other’s shoulders, make a beautiful couple, expressing feelings of unity and harmony.
Congolese couple, Democratic Republic of Congo. Height: 21 cm (8¼ in). Sold for €212,500 on 10 April 2019 at Christie’s in Paris
‘This type of Congolese sculpture was associated with the Lemba society, and celebrates their view of stable marriage as a requirement for a successful life.’
Rebecca JonesHead of Sale, Photographs
‘Peter Hujar met poet and visual artist David Wojnarowicz in 1980, a year before he made this portrait in his East Village studio. When I look at this picture, which was recently on show at the Jeu de Paume in Paris, I see the love between two people, both estranged from their birth families, left to build their own families within their marginalised community.
Peter Hujar: David Wojnarowicz Reclining (II), 1981. Vintage gelatin silver print, 20 x 16 in (50.8 × 40.6 cm). Courtesy Peter Hujar Archive, Pace/MacGill Gallery, and Fraenkel Gallery
‘Wojnarowicz was diagnosed with AIDS shortly after Hujar’s own AIDS-related death in 1987. In an interview Wojnarowicz once said, “Everything I made, I made for Peter.”’
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Arne EverwijnSenior Specialist, 19th Century European Art
‘My wife and I had a rather prophetic encounter with one particular painting in 2012 when we were in Switzerland and went to visit the Fondation Pierre Gianadda in Martigny. There, in a corner, was a picture by Vincent van Gogh, that had such a strange draw for us. My wife even posed with it for a photo.
Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890), Le Bébé Marcelle Roulin. Oil on canvas. 14¼ by 9⅞ in (36 by 25 cm). Private collection
‘Painted during his time in Arles, it embodies his energy and optimism of that period. It is one of three versions that he completed in December 1888. Two were sold through Theo van Gogh in Paris and ended up in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam and the National Gallery in Washington. The artist presented this one to the family of the sitter. Three days after this chance encounter we found out my wife was pregnant with our first child.’