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Whatever Love Means
London's National Gallery is in love, with artists that tried to put their interpretation on that inexplicable range of human emotions defined by unconditional unselfish acts. Love
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Joseph's love for Mary is an important if somewhat overlooked portion of the story of the birth of Christ. Pregnant by someone other than him; Joseph's love surpassed his misgivings and he raised God's child. |
Raphael's Madonna of the Pinks depicts Mary and her son seated in a bedroom. The two exchange a pink flower. Some believe it signifies marriage, for others it foreshadows the passion of Christ. This painting was a marked difference from others previously painted on this theme. Raphael captured the tenderness between a mother and her beloved child. Prior works used stiffly set figures not the flowing manner encapsulated here.
The Italian Renaissance master, Raphael, based this work on one by his contemporary Leonardo da Vinci, The Benois Madonna.
Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema
Title: The Unconscious Rivals, 1893
Artist: Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema (Dutch-British 1836–1912)
Medium: Oil on Panel
Permanent Collection and © Bristol’s Museums:, Galleries & Archives.(K1248)
Image Courtesy: National Gallery, London
Ancient Rome set in Victorian England is one way to describe Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema's Unconscious Rivals. The work is saturated with themes of love. A statute of Cupid, the Roman God of Love and Desires is on the left. The athletic stars of the day were Roman gladiators; to the right is a reclining statute of this hero. Perhaps Alma-Tadema wanted to suggest the two female figures were involved with such a hero but the title infers they are unaware of their participation in a love triangle.
Take a close look at the dome ceiling of the work, it is reminiscent of Pompeii known for its grottesca style decorations. Alma-Tadema had twice visited the southern Italy city prior to painting this work. Many of his paintings illustrated the luxuries found in the Roman Empire.
Alma-Tadema befriended the Pre-Raphaelites and their influence led him to lighten his palette. One of the key members of this group was William Holman Hunt.
William Holman Hunt
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John Keat's poem Isabella or The Pot of Basil inspired William Holman Hunt to paint Isabella caressing the pot of basil that holds the decapitated head of her murdered lover, Lorenzo. |
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Holman Hunt illustrates Isabella's anguish. Unable to sleep she climbs out of bed and goes to the shrine honoring the love of her life: a man brutally killed by Isabella's own brothers. She loved Lorenzo, a servant, rather than the noble man her family had selected for her.
Isabella's hair hangs over the basil pot, as Keats had written, ""hung over her sweet Basil evermore, And moistened it with tears unto the core."
Bartolomé Esteban Murillo
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Spanish Baroque artist Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, usually painted religious subjects such as Infant Saint John with the Lamb. |
Saint John holds a lamb which refers to the Lamb of God: the Christ child. The painting bears an inscription: ecce agnvs dei (Behold the Lamb of God). Love here is between two cousins both destined to die for their beliefs and actions.
Ultimately Love at London's National Gallery looks at love's power to triumph over adversity.
Love:
National Gallery, London:
July 24 - October 5, 2008