Love for you, part 2

Hello, all!

I got some really great feedback after the last post, and as a result, found you some more art depicting love, romance, and affection for your enjoyment! Might I also recommend my post on wedding paintings, Goin' to the Chapel.

The Stolen Kiss, Jean Honoré Fragonard, 1780s

Not sure why I did not think of Fragonard before! You might know him for his dreamy Rococo work The Swing. Here, our gentleman sneaks a kiss from his lady and catches her quite by surprise! On another, unrelated note, I love her dress.

The Kiss, Francesco Hayez, 1859

Well now! Despite the relatively bland, subdued background, the lovers overwhelm this piece with their obvious passion for one another. The blue of her satin dress is picked up by the shadows, but also provides vibrant contrast to their clandestine meeting place.

In Bed the Kiss, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, 1892

I had no idea this existed either! A little more specific in its time of affection...This work is a little more explicit, but nonetheless romantic. There's another Toulouse-Lautrec from this year called The Kiss that plays up the depicted passion with heavy use of the color red.

Love, Gustav Klimt, 1895

Another Klimt! I did not know of this piece at all, prior to the Google Search that led me to it. Here, a proper-looking, upper class lady submits herself to a kiss with a rugged, gypsy-like fellow. Not sure how to explain the floating heads at the top of the work...but the couple themselves are intriguing. Love the gold framing bands (Klimt loves gold leaf!) and cream roses.

Rainy Kiss, Leonid Afremov, 2010

I've found some of this artist's works in passing throughout the internet via DeviantArt and Pinterest. I love the broken brushstrokes and saturated colors. They really make his scenes dance and sparkle with life and light! Here we have the quintessential foot pop The Princess Diaries has taught us all about. A great, right-now contemporary piece!

Legendary Kiss, V-J Day in Times Square, Alfred Eisenstaedt, 1945

I'm actually pretty darn embarrassed that I left this off of the first post. As my boyfriend's lovely sister point out to me, this is certainly a requirement for any post on love art! Even if we now know the story (that the kiss was random), it'll forever be idolized in the hearts of many as the picturesque, victorious, celebratory, passionate end to World War II.

But this picture's subject also has special significance for me. On this day, in New York, in Times Square, my great Aunt Natalya and some friends were there in the midst of celebrations. And if you look below at another angle of the Kiss (yes, this one gets a capital K), I've circled our proof and a bit of family history. That woman is my great Aunt Natalya!