The Love Lounge By Carter Armstrong

Springtime, by Pierre-Auguste Cot, 1873

(Content) Springtime is a beautiful piece about love and romance, since it represents such, I think it belongs in my Museum. With the subjects being the young man and woman on the swing together in the forest, they share a tender embrace and an even more tender look. The forest that they're in symbolizes freedom and the ability for them to be romantic with no restraint. Both subjects gaze at each other lovingly and the girl wearing a see through cloth shows the love they have for each other being able to expose herself around him. Ultimately, this is a beautiful and very cute piece with an overall message of love and freedom to love one another in their most simple forms.

The Love Letter, By: Jean Honore Fragonard, Early 1770's

(Content) This piece shows an almost secretive scene with the subject matter being the woman, stifling a smile as she holds up a love letter and a bouquet of flowers. With the theme here being almost crystal clear, there leaves little room for symbolism other than the flowers being a symbol of love and romance. This piece does however leave much room for interpretation. The flowers and letter as well as blank sheets of paper on the desk imply that the woman and what we can only assume to be her lover, commonly send love letters back and forth. Knowing this gives the piece that feeling of simple, innocent, and playful love between two people. The overall message of this piece being the joy and one could feel from interacting with someone they love. A very cute piece about innocent love and it certainly earned its spot in this room.

Maternity, By: Benjamin West, 1784

(Content) Maternity, is a piece made with red chalk and paper. The show of maternal love making this piece perfect for the room about simplicity of love. The main subject matter of this piece would be the mother, idling with her children, enjoying family time. There are some cases of symbolism in this piece that I've noticed. First of which being what looks to be the disheveled hair of the mother, which could be signs showing her tiredness being a mother of 3 children. Others I have seen are more in the form itself. All the babies have a different facial expression that shows a different mood. The baby closest to the mother shows a happy and carefree expression, this is probably because in this scene, that baby is getting the most attention and love from the mother. The second, to the right with its head down, shows a more saddened expression while they suck on their thumb for comfort, this is likely because of the lack of motherly attention. The final baby, being upright above the others has a shocked expression! This baby is also not in the spotlight but instead of being sad about it, its almost going "what the heck? Why am I not getting attention?" This, in all is a funny piece with an overall message of Maternal love with some strong aspects of sibling rivalry

The Swing, by: Jean Honore Fragonard, 1767

(Content) Returning to the works of Fragonard we have one of his more famous pieces, The Swing. A piece with many elements that add to the story told, but the main subject is the young girl in the frilly dress, happily swinging away in a garden. As you look at the piece, look around the young woman to see the story told. Below on the left, laying up against the base of a statue, there's a young man who looks up at the woman longingly. The statue, coincidentally, resembles Cupid, the spirit of love, symbolizing the love and romance between the pair. However some have speculated that this piece has a more scandalous story being told. through clues in the subtext, you can see an older man on the right, almost obscured in the shade. Some theorize that the man is the woman's husband, and the younger man in the foreground is her secret lover! The appearances of these characters tell their own story too in the way they are positioned and posed. The young woman kicks her leg up, both throwing her slipper off her foot, and exposing the underside of her dress. Now whether or not this was on purpose for the man lying in the bushes, he still monopolizes on her doing so by getting a look up her dress. The overall message of this piece is romantic, playful, and somewhat scandalous, all the great things that make up love as a whole. A great piece to include in the room about playful and innocent love.

Pygmalion and Galatea, by Auguste Rodin, 1908-09

(Context) This sculpted piece is in the form of two characters from mythology. The story of Pygmalion desiring a woman so badly that he sculpted her. Venus, The Goddess of Love, noticing this romantic and loving act, gave life to the woman made of marble. A very touching and romantic story of legend. However, the Pygmalion in the sculpture doesn't resemble the common, younger portrayal. Instead he is a man with a large beard who actually resembles the artist, Rodin. Rodin found himself to be similar to Pygmalion in that he loved his creations so much that he wished they were more than just sculptures. I find the devotion in this piece to be what makes it so much about love and passion. You can see Pygmalion dropped to the floor, completely immersing himself in his newfound love. It is almost as if he bows down in devotion for her almost saying "I'll do anything for you" with his positioning alone. This is an amazing romantic and devoted piece with just as great a story to go along with it. A passionate story such as this makes it a great addition to this room.

Il Bacio (The Kiss), Francesco Hayez, 1859

(Form) The Kiss, the epidemy of passion and love and a perfect addition to the museum. The smoothness and masterful creation of the entire piece just lets you take it all in and appreciate the scene all the more. The lines that make up the embracing couple are organic and naturally flowing, almost making it look like the couple are moving. If you look from the bottom up, there's an almost imaginary tall triangle that the embracing couple makes. As it gets closer to the top, they get closer together, almost becoming one with each other, adding to the intimacy even more. The colors used in this piece also add to the scene, the slightly dulled, but still warm, yellowed tones of the background add to the intimacy and draw the eyes to the brightly dressed man and woman. The man wears bright red pants and a brown cloak, while the woman wears a bright, light blue dress that, while we're on the topic, looks almost photographic from the level of detail down to the wrinkles and flow of the dress. This is a beautifully intimate and romantic piece that shows depth and passion of love.

In Bed, The Kiss, By: Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, 1892

(Form) Another intimate scene involving a passionate kiss as the main attraction makes this perfect for this room. This piece contains clearly expressed lines, simple organic shapes, and a color palette that suggests the early morning. The lines in this piece are heavy and clear to show the difference of the couple and the bed. The overlapping organic heavy lines of the bodies of the embracing couple shows intimacy and how close they are in the literal sense. The shapes of this piece being organic and curved almost gives it a sense of purposeful informality, showing that love is natural and something that can be appreciated messily. The colors of the scene are gentle and warm on the bodies of the two women, their skin reflecting the light of the early dawning sun. Their bed almost being a contrasting white or almost blue color, drawing attention to the bright and vibrant couple. All these elements along with the shallow space of the scene really emphasizes the intimacy and closeness.

Ophelia, By: John Everett Millais, 1851-52

(Content) I decided to include Ophelia because of the tragic story told by this piece. Where head-over-heels love was at one point had been replaced by heartbreak, pain, and madness. Our subject matter, Ophelia was head-over-heels in love with Prince Hamlet, this love unfortunately, was unrequited. Hamlet treats Ophelia horribly and rejects her so harshly that she took her own life by drowning herself because of the severity of the heartbreak she had endured. You can see the calm look on her face as she slowly drifts off, symbolizing that she has truly let go and accepted that this the end for her. However, as calm as she looks, one can still see that there is pain in her face, pain that it had to come to this end. She looks up, likely at the trees or other parts of nature around her, and takes in her last sights before she dies, this symbolizes that she finds peace in the embrace of nature. This is a tragic and telling piece with an overall message and theme of heartbreak and disconnection from reality by letting go. These strong details and themes make this piece a perfect addition to this room in the museum.

(The Museum of Love does not condone self-harm or suicide by any means including but not limited to: Harsh rejection, self poisoning, stabbing yourself when your lover was poisoned, purposeful snakebite, etc.)

Ariadne, By: Asher Brown durand, 1831-35

(Context) This piece was made by Durand during a big change in his life. At the time of him making the piece, he was mid transition into becoming a full time painter, his previous position being an engraver. His interest weighed on the side of romanticism in terms of art for his time. He had a knack for blending both European and American elements into his arts. When he made Ariadne, The United States was growing more accustomed and welcoming to classical mythology. The themes he included in his art, being love, abandonment, and as such, heartbreak, caught the eye of audiences who wanted to connect with the culture of ancient Greece. the story of Ariadne is a telltale tragedy on its own. Ariadne, being a princess and daughter of King Minos, had helped who she believed to be her lover, Theseus, escape the Labyrinth and defeat the Minotaur within. After they had escaped together, Theseus abandoned Ariadne on the island of Naxos. In the piece you can see her, laying strangely in peace given her predicament. However, given what she went through it is clear that she contains feelings of resentment and heartbreak, feelings given by her once lover after heartlessly abandoning her. The strong theme of betrayal, abandonment, and heartbreak weigh heavily on this piece, as such, it belongs in this room.

Mezzetin, By: Antoine Watteau, 1718-20

(Content) This sad and depressing piece containing a tragically unloved bard has earned its spot in this room. The subject being this poor bard, strumming away on his lute after his attempts at love have been squandered. The statue in the background of a woman turned away symbolizes the rejection he has faced and that he is held by nobody. There is meaning from form to take note of as well. By looking at him you can see that his fingers are chapped and red, showing that he has been playing for a while, music has been known to keep people company in their darkest hours. The look on his face is one of sorrow, he looks up in an almost prayer-like way as if to ask the Gods why his love has been turned down. This is a tragic piece with an overall message of heartbreak via rejection and unrequited love.

The lady of shalott, By: John William Waterhouse, 1888

(Content) "singing in her song she died, The Lady of Shalott" Original poem by Lord Alfred Tennyson, 1832. The Lady of Shalott is an utterly devastating and tragic piece about the pursuit of love in vain, only leading to failure. This painting, written around the poem made years before, visualizes the tragic story of the Lady of Shalott. The subject matter being the Lady of Shalott herself, weakly trying to sail across the river in vain due to the nature of her curse. The curse that has doomed her to die. The symbolism in this piece alludes to her incoming and guaranteed end. The three candles and lantern on the stern of her boat symbolizing her life fading away, the last candle lit blowing in the wind, is all but extinguished. The tragic yet genius symbolism is a great detail. The meaning from form lies in her expression and actions. Her right hand is grasping a chain but her grip is visibly loosened, a sign of her fading life. Her face is filled with grief and despair, knowing that everything she has done for the sake of love will have been in vain. As she fades and with her last breaths, she sings a somber melody as her final action. This piece has an overall message of tragedy, failure of love, and loss. A truly heartbreaking and depressing piece deserves its spot in this room and in this museum

For those who wish to read the whole poem: The Lady of Shalott