Over the next five days I'll share five of my favorite Pre-Raphaelite paintings that can be found at National Gallery of Art's special exhibit. You can fully experience these five works, and many more during my tour on Sunday, April 29th!Enjoy! And please feel free to comment below and share with your friends!  Click on image to enlarge
Who is this? An old maid? A mother? Where is she? In a garden? A kitchen? (Look in the background...)
How is she holding that pot of plants? Is she about to move it? Is she examining it? Is she listening to something inside?
Why is she holding it with caressing hands and her cheek pressed to it? (Can you spot two more indications of her tenderness towards it? Maybe three?)
Why is she holding a plant pot so affectionately? Can you spot any clues on the pot that might suggest what it means to her?
What do you think is going on here?
What, in your own life, do you hold onto so tenderly?
Here is the fifteenth of sixteen of my favorite artworks depicting romantic love in its various forms.
 The Painter's Honeymoon, by Frederick Leighton
A young painter quietly sketches on his board while his wife sits beside him looking on. Though they are both keenly staring at the drawing and not each other, the undercurrent of intimacy is present throughout. What details of intimacy can you spot?
It is thought that Leighton deliberately withheld the painting from being exhibited after it's initial showing to the public. Contemporaries seemed to have believed that it was because the subject matter was too personal for the shy, private painter.
Leighton, however, was unmarried.
Here is the fourteenth of sixteen of my favorite artworks depicting romantic love in its various forms.
Meeting on the Turret Stair, by Frederick William Burton
The subtitle to this sorrowful parting is Hellelil and Hildebrand. The story is taken from a Medieval Danish ballad. The princess, Hellelil, was in love with a knight named Hildebrand--a love her father would disapprove of. When the king eventually found out about the affair, he demanded that Hildebrand come out of her chamber to die at the hands of his fellow knights. Hildebrand left Hellelil ready to fight and die.
Here is the thirteenth of sixteen of my favorite artworks depicting romantic love in its various forms. I'll be adding one artwork a day to the blog until Valentine's Day!
"Like", "Tweet", and "Comment" on your favorites. The most liked artwork will be featured in my next video!
Sappho and Alcaeus, by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema
Sappho (seated at the podium) was an Ancient Greek poet who flourished in the 6th century BC. She wrote love poetry and was thought to have disdained men's attempts at writing about love.
Alcaeus was a poet himself and was believed by tradition to have been Sappho's lover.
In this scene, it's clear that Sappho is far from feeling disdain for Alcaeus' song!
Click to enlarge!
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Here is the twelfth of sixteen of my favorite artworks depicting romantic love in its various forms. I'll be adding one artwork a day to the blog until Valentine's Day!
"Like", "Tweet", and "Comment" on your favorites. The most liked artwork will be featured in my next video!
 The Kiss, by Francesco Hayez  Click to Enlarge! Francesco Hayez chose not to illustrate any particular story in this painting because he wanted to draw attention to the kind of kiss depicted and not any specific characters or scene. So, What kind of kiss is this?This is clearly a passionate kiss as he envelops her in his cloak, bends her head and torso back, and tenderly presses his fingers to her face. But there is much more going on!To assist you in figuring out the rest here are some helpful questions:-Where is this kiss taking place? What kind of mood does it evoke?
-What are they wearing? What do their clothes suggest about who they are and their positions in society?
-Take a close look in the shadows behind the frame of the archway. What do you see?How would you summarize the moment depicted?For one answer, watch the "Art Chat" video!
Here is the eleventh of sixteen of my favorite artworks depicting romantic love in its various forms. I'll be adding one artwork a day to the blog until Valentine's Day!
"Like", "Tweet", and "Comment" on your favorites. The most liked artwork will be featured in my next video!
The Black Brunswicker, by John Everett Millais
 Click on images to enlarge! The Black Brunswickers were a volunteer corps formed in 1809 to fight against Napoleon.
In this scene, a young soldier of that corps is departing his beloved. He holds onto his cap with one hand and with the other is pulling open the door. She tries to stop him from leaving, pressing her hand to his chest while grabbing the doorknob to push it closed.
There's one key question that will help you understand the full complexity of the conflict in this scene. Whose home is this? His, hers, or theirs?
(Hint: Look closely at the image on the wall and at the dog. Knowing who is depicted in that image is key to understanding the conflict.)
An insightful comparison can be made with another Millais painting called The Huguenot Lover (and featured in Touching The Art!).How are these two departure scenes different?
Here is the tenth of sixteen of my favorite artworks depicting romantic love in its various forms. I'll be adding one artwork a day to the blog until Valentine's Day!
"Like", "Tweet", and "Comment" on your favorites. The most liked artwork will be featured in my next video!
Expectation, by Charles Soulacroix. Frye Museum of Art, Seattle
 Click images to enlarge Two young women have left the social gathering to go spend some time with each other outside (probably to chat about boys). Suddenly, in the distance, they see someone who catches their eye--a handsome young man goes by not aware that the two lovely women are staring at him. As these two friends look on, their expressions reveal what this young man means to each. What could each be thinking? Who do you think is most interested in the young man?
Here is the ninth of sixteen of my favorite artworks depicting romantic love in its various forms. I'll be adding one artwork a day to the blog until Valentine's Day!
"Like", "Tweet", and "Comment" on your favorites. The most liked artwork will be featured in my next video!
Romeo and Juliet, by Frank Dicksee
 Click on the images to see a larger version! When have you felt like Juliet does? You don't want the embrace of departure to end, and you hold onto it as long as you can.
Romeo is secretly leaving Juliet's room on the morning following their wedding night.
How can you tell he is ready to leave? How can you tell that she wants to continue the embrace? (Hint: look at their hands, eyes, and postures.)
Here is the fourth of sixteen of my favorite artworks depicting romantic love in its various forms. I'll be adding one artwork a day to the blog until Valentine's Day!
"Like", "Tweet", and "Comment" on your favorites. The most liked artwork will be featured in my next video!
 The Visit to the Nursery, by Jean-Honore Fragonard A father has just stepped into the nursery and sees his newborn child for the first time. As he stares adoringly, he gently cradles the mom's arm to his cheek. He his gazing lovingly at the baby, but his love for his wife, as they share in admiring the precious bundle which bonds them, is a fixed accompaniment.
 The Swing, by Fragonard
Jean-Honore Fragonard, the painter of The Visit to the Nursery, is, interestingly, also the artist of The Swing--a very different kind of moment of love!
Here is the second of sixteen of my favorite artworks depicting romantic love in its various forms. I'll be adding one artwork a day to the blog until Valentine's Day!
"Like", "Tweet", and "Comment" on your favorites. The most liked artwork will be featured in my next video!
 The Swing, by Jean-Honore Fragonard The scene is not from any particular tale, but likely a moment imagined by the man who commissioned the painting. He supposedly conceived of the scene with him and his mistress in the midst of playful temptation, while the character holding the swing would be a bishop. That obviously isn't a bishop! Fragonard seems to have taken the liberty of turning the bishop into... perhaps... the young woman's husband who seems cheerfully ignorant of what is going on 10 ft away.
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