Love depicted in sculpture, painting, and poetry across centuries

¶ … Art Works

The different forms of art have been used over the years to capture various themes in the society and express the feelings and standpoint of the artist. Many artists have been immortalized by their art forms which transcend time and space as they come to be known and revered across the globe and many decades after they were composed. The sculptures, poems, songs, paintings, mosaic works and many other forms of art including the contemporary movie genres have seen some major themes brought into immortalization and the stand or perspective of various artists known through such art works.

One of the predominant themes over the decades is love which is captured different according to the philosophy that the composer of a given work of art holds towards the idea of love. Some loath love, some adore love, other artists are indifferent, yet some do not believe in the concept of love and all these forms of expressions and perspectives on love are effectively captured through the various forms of art.

Sculpture and the theme of love/romance

One such piece of art is the Cupid Awakening Psyche which is a neo-classic sculpture that was artistically carved out of marble by Antonio Canova who contributed to art through sculpture until his death in 1822 (Musee du Louvre, 2010). This piece of art shows Cupid, which is a winged young man deemed to be the god of love Eros, translating to Cupid in Latin, landing on a rock where a girl lies unconscious, the lady needs rescue, her name is called Psyche. The sculpture is derived from an ancient mythology where Psyche was sent by Cupid's mother called Venus, the goddess of beauty, to the underworld to bring back a flask and never to open it. She god too curious and opened it, hence breathing dangerous fumes and falling into a deep deathlike sleep. Seeing the lifeless Psyche, Cupid rushes to her, pokes her with the tip of one of his arrows and holds her up between his arms looking into her face ready to give her a kiss that would revive her. This is the love moment that the sculptor captured through his sculpture name Cupid Awakening Psyche. The love and intimacy captured by the sculptor in a magnificent manner as it shows how love can transcend boundaries and even revive those deemed to have died. It is an expression of young love or love between two young people. It also express the love that transcends boundaries since Cupid was a god and Psyche was made to be of the lowest human caliber by the jealous Venus, and even forbid Cupid from associating with Psyche, but still, the love that Cupid had for Psyche transcended all these boundaries. The sculpture was well done, with the emotions well brought out through the motions depicted in the curves of the sculpture, the love feeling can be felt all around the sculpture and the intimacy of the two subjects is properly brought out. The sculpture was a big success.

Painting and the theme of love/romance

Another piece of art is the painting entitled In The Garden done by Pierre Auguste Renoir in 1885. This classical piece of painting is now displayed in Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The painting is basically a romantic composition depicting two lovers relaxing in a green garden which adds to the beauty of the painting. There are garden furniture as well and the man's hat placed on the table. The man gazes into the eyes of the lady with the urge to capture her attention. There is a banquet of flowers placed on the table and the man, with the left hand holds the waist of the lady and with the right hand has the hands of the lady firmly in his hand. The lady is relaxed and looks at the viewer straight. The painting depicts deep love that the couple enjoy and especially the unrequited love that the man has for the lady (Artpromotivate, 2013). The painter has successfully depicted the theme of love and most importantly has succeeded in bringing out how nature can compliment love that humans have towards each other.