Most romantic paintings

It is only with the heart that one can see rightly;
What is essential is invisible to the eye. ~Antoine De Saint-Exupery

It is generally agreed that romance is a specific state of mind that is inspired by idealization and involves a certain pensiveness, a state where emotions and ideals top the chart. And almost everyone experiences it at some point in their lives. As a rule, romantic feelings arise only when the other influences of the real world fall into the background and one particular relationship becomes the most important thing in the world at that moment.

Art in its turn is a mirror of feelings and impressions, and of course it sometimes depends on and reflects the romantic feelings of an artist. From the perspective of the viewer, which artwork is it that you find most makes you think of love? What would you consider the most romantic painting? After some consideration, many readers will find that they agree in their conclusion – that they think the answer is “The Kiss” by Gustav Klimt.

A website which provides reproductions of oil paintings, created a survey in honor of Valentine`s Day, 2011; 3 000 000 people took part and the Web site published the Top 10 most romantic paintings results. The first three places went to the “The Kiss” by Gustav Klimt, “Dance in the City” by Pierre-Auguste Renoir and “The Lovers” by Pablo Picasso, in that order.

These three paintings each share with the viewer a romantic story. “The Kiss” depicts a couple: a woman waiting for a kiss and a man who gives it to her. There is no space, no time, no movement; the moment is simply frozen in its gold vibration. “Dance in the City” shows us a couple in the roses and candy stage of a relationship, and the uneasiness that goes with it, yet also their sweet expectancy. “The Lovers” is full of restrained emotion and we can just guess at the reason for its stiffness and sorrow.

Gustav Klimt`s “The Kiss” is probably his best-known painting and this ‘most romantic painting’ of the year is currently exhibited at the Österreichische Galerie Belvedere museum. Auguste Renoir`s “Dance in the City” is at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris and “The Lovers” by Pablo Picasso is at the National Gallery of Art in Washington. So if you want to be mega-romantic and irreversibly win the heart of your significant other, you can plan a tour to all these museums, certainly staying for a long time in front of these masterpieces. On the other hand, if you prefer to stay closer to home, it is almost certain that the galleries or museums nearer you contain some paintings that focus on the theme of love. Because love and romance are such fundamental parts of life, and art explores so much of human feelings and experiences, there is an obvious and frequent connection between the two.