The month of February is gifted with chances to express love to a dear one or a romantic partner. But while these expressions of love go on, over time, various artists have used their paintings to capture and express the passion and sensual emotions of love and care. 

Pierre-Auguste Cot’s “Le Printemps”

In his realism painting, Pierre-Auguste Cot draws a couple adorned in robes that shows their deepest feelings for each other. The use of the colour red by the painter suggests the burning desires of the male figure for his partner. For the female figure in the painting, the use of white which is worn by the girl is symbolic to mean purity. This work  further captures a scenario of a rustic love in springtime. The work which was formed in 1873 zooms on the playfulness of two people in love as they lovingly embrace each other on a swing in the middle of the forest.

Gustav Klimt ‘‘The Kiss’’ 

‘‘Make me immortal with a kiss’’- Christopher Marlowe words capture the drawing of Gustav’s The Kiss. The work shows a cuddling couple locked in each other’s arms as the male figure tenderly grasps his female counterpart as she melts away in reckless abandonment in his arms. This painting holds those moments of helpless human affection between lovers. The 1907 work shows the passion and devotion that can oftentimes be caught in a warm embrace. The love story of the painting is done in a colourful way that draws the attention of spectators to the couple. The sheer intent of kissing has been captured by several artists, an act that is a deep display of human fondness. The couples seem to also fade away into each other as there is no distinction to where the couples mosaic robes start or end, blending the Art Nouveau style to show the human and the divine. However, art critics have implied that the intent by Klimt was to depict the love story of Greek gods Orpheus and Eurydice.

Rene Magritte ‘‘The Lovers’’ 

Another art piece that shows two individuals kissing, but this time kissing through clothed faces. Belonging to a Belgian surrealist painter Rene Magritte and done in 1928, this striking feature has since become an iconic work of art and largely for its unsettling demeanour.  The work, considered as one of Rene Magritte most admired paintings, has had raving reviews that shows the complexity of “The Lovers” strange appeal. Critics say that the work may imply darker connotations because Magritte’s mother committed suicide by drowning when the artist was 14 years.

It is supposed that the image of his mother’s head shrouded in her wet night dress troubled the young artist. This image eerily makes it into the artist’s painting of the hooded figures.

Sandro Botticelli ‘‘The Birth Of Venus’’ 

This mythological art form of the 15th century captures the goddess of love as a model of purity and flawlessness. Done by Sandro Botticelli in 1484-86 for the Medici family, the painting shows the goddess in a shell arriving on the shore of Cyprus after her birth. Covering her nakedness with her blond hair, the painting resides in the Uffizi gallery Florence of Italy. It was used for decorative purposes in the house of nobles.