Art's Greatest Kisses

Is there anything more romantic than a kiss? In honor of the supposed most romantic day of the year, here are a few of my favorite art works featuring that most amorous of all gestures.

I've been a life-long Toulouse-Lautrec fan; he was one of my absolute favorite painters when I was a young girl. But I have never had the pleasure of seeing this work live, as it is in a private collection. I suppose I'll just have to wait and hope it comes to an exhibition near me.

The Kiss, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Private Collection

I have loved this photograph since I was an adolescent. To me it was the epitome of romance, and represented all that I hoped would happen to me in my future (which I knew would undoubtedly take place in Europe). It was a great joy for me to see it at the Robert Doisneau exhibit at Palazzo delle Esposizioni in Rome two years ago.

The Kiss at Hotel de Ville, Robert Doisneau,

This sensuous work is going on exhibit along with 60 other pieces by Rodin at the National Roman Museum at the Baths of Diocletian. Rodin: The Marble, The Life opens this Tuesday, 18 February.

The Kiss, Auguste Rodin, Musée Rodin, Paris

This the only work of art that has ever literally made me cry upon seeing it live. Of course, there is another story there, which actually has to do more with Schiele than with Klimt. Perhaps I'll blog about that memorable museum visit one day.

The Kiss, Gustav Klimt, Österreichische Galerie Belvedere, Vienna

 I don't think this next one needs any commentary.

The Kiss, Francesco Hayez, Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan

And last but not least, my absolute favorite, which is, in reality, a few centimeters away from being a kiss, but perhaps that makes it all the more exquisite. You can read more about these two lovebirds, Cupid and Psyche, here and here, in two blogposts I dedicated solely to them.

Psyche Revived by the Kiss of Love, Antonio Canova, Musée du Louvre, Paris

Did I leave out any of your favorites?

All images courtesy of Wiki Commons.

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Paris in black and white: photographs of Robert Doisneau

"Some days the mere fact of seeing feels like perfect happiness... You feel so rich you long to share your jubilation with others. The memory of such moments is my most precious possession. Maybe because there've been so few of them. A hundredth of a second here, a hundredth of a second there-- even if you put them end to end they still only add up to one, two, perhaps three seconds snatched from eternity."  Robert Doisneau

The Kiss at Hotel de Ville, 1950, © atelier Robert Doisneau

For as long as I can remember, I have adored this photograph. It summed up everything that was romantic and poetic to my fanciful, adolescent soul. I don't recall where or how I came across it, only that I had a reproduction of it taped to my baby blue Laura Ashley wallpaper, somewhere between my giant A Room with a View poster and my first pair of pointe shoes. And just like Lucy Honeychurch being seized and kissed in a field near Florence, this anonymous Parisienne being kissed on a busy city sidewalk as the rest of the world shuffled around her represented all that my 14-year-old self could possibly want from the world of romance.

It shouldn't be a surprise that my very first boyfriend, whom I met on my very first day at New England Conservatory in Boston when I was barely 18, resembled this dashing smoocher not a little: rumpled jacket, artistically tousled hair, bohemian scarf and ever-present cigarette. I'm not sure I ever made the connection between that troubled but brilliant musician I spent the first three years of my adulthood with and the man in the by-then forgotten photograph I had left in my childhood bedroom, but seeing it again after so many years, hanging in the Palazzo delle Esposizioni, it was almost laughably apparent.

The Ballad of Pierrette d'Orient, 1950, © atelier Robert Doisneau

Little did I know at 14 that this stolen kiss was only the tip of the iceberg in Doisneau's arsenal of Paris moments. Stumbling transfixed through the exhibition, I enthusiastically drank in the snapshots of humanity all around me: the wonder in a young girl's eyes as she looks at the Mona Lisa for the first time; a frumpy old wife's resentful glare at the show-girl whose arm is casually resting on her husband's knee; a scrubby boy's look of longing as he stares into a toy store window, the marvel in the eyes of a group of young men staring up at the Eiffel Tower.

Pont d'Iéna, 1945, © atelier Robert Doisneau

And this, for me, is what makes Doisneau one of the greatest photographers of all time: his ability to capture an indescribable moment. Because, as he so eloquently put it in the quote that opens this post, it is these perfect, sublime moments that make life worth living.

As I write these words, a few lines from Stephen Sondheim's masterpiece Into the Woods ring out in my head (ironically introduced to me by that self-same first boyfriend):

"Oh, if life were made of moments!... even now and then a bad one--"

"But, if life were only moments, then you'd never know you had one..."

Self-portrait with Rolleiflex, 1947, © atelier Robert Doisneau

If you live for unforgettable moments like Robert here and I do, don't miss this chance to see hundreds of his photographs, shot between 1934 and 1991 and exclusively in Paris, in this beautifully curated exhibit. For more information such as opening times and address, see my Exhibits on Now page.

All images courtesy of Azienda Speciale Palaexpo

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Six Faces across Two Continents, photographs by Phil McKinney

Oh, Bloglings, what can I say after over two months and nary a word penned? How can I ever apologize to my faithful readers? I can imagine you, desperately checking the site daily for a new post, only to have your hopes dashed by seeing, again and again, that I am neglecting you! Or, more likely, you didn't even notice my absence. Ah, well, a girl can dream. I'll try not to take it personally.

The only excuse I can give for this uncharacteristic silence is that I have had more paid writing work in the past two months than ever in my life before. That plus two jobs and the sweltering Roman heat has been enough to put the blog on pause for longer than I'd like to admit. Just as posting everyday makes me more likely to post the next day, failing to post makes it easier for me to skip a post the next day. With such a long dry spell it was going to have to take something very good and very important to get me to start writing again. Well, Bloglings, have I got a treat for you.

© Phil McKinney

This very evening, Wednesday 20 June, an exciting mini-exhibit is being presented by a brilliant, up-and-coming photographer. Phil McKinney hails from Northern Ireland and has lived all over the world, from Rome to Africa to Southeast Asia. A nutritionist who works for several UN agencies, providing valuable research and insights into the nutritional needs of the world's very poorest inhabitants, McKinney spends his free time photographing the very same people whom his work is seeking to help.**

**The photos I have posted here, however, were all shot in Rome. You'll have to come to the exhibit, or check out one of Phil's sites (see below) to see the kind of images I'm describing here.

© Phil McKinney

At Barnum Caffè near Campo de' Fiori, this evening McKinney will be presenting some of his personal favorite snapshots. Like my favorite artist Caravaggio, he has a knack for capturing his subjects' humanity. Unlike so many photographers who travel to the furthest corners of the world to photograph people from all walks of life, often never taking the time to get to know them, McKinney spends several months in each place studying and witnessing the specific problems and issues that face each of his subjects. It is this very understanding of their situation that gives him the insight to capture valuable and meaningful portraits.

© Phil McKinney

The exhibit, lasting one night only, will be particularly rewarding as the artist will be present. As I have the honor of counting him as one of my friends, I know him well enough to know he will be more than willing to illuminate these portraits will commentary on the images and his experiences in capturing them. If my hunch is correct, his photographs will soon be gracing the pages of National Geographic, so stop by to meet him to see some of his stunning images. This way you can say you knew him when, and it might be your last chance, as he is jetting off to Burma at the end of the week for his newest mission.

All photos on exhibit are also for sale, printed on high quality paper, guaranteed not to fade for 50-75 years.

Check out more of McKinney's work on his website, Chasing Phil, his blog, his Flickr page and his Facebook page.

Here are the exhibit details:
Six Faces across Two Continents (A mini exhibit and a farewell)
Wednesday, 20 June 2012, from 7pm onward
Barnum Caffè
Via del Pellegrino, 87 (near Campo de' Fiori)
Rome

Hope to see you there!

All photos copyright Phil McKinney and posted with permission.

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Photographs by Andrea Pacanowski: you won't believe your eyes

Hello my sweet bloglings, have I got a treat for you today! A brand new exhibit opened this past Friday at the Museum of Rome in Trastevere. On display are 40 works by Roman contemporary photographer Andrea Pacanowski. One look at these images will send your mind swirling in a kaleidoscope of colors, but there's something else, something you won't believe.

The title of the exhibit is: Before me: the crowd and the religious experience. I agree with you, that doesn't translate very well. All'infuori di me (meaning literally 'besides me' or 'except for me') is a quote from the first commandment: "Thou shalt have no other gods before me". Folla does mean crowd, but it is a strong word, could even be translated as mob in certain cases.

The photos were captured the holiest cities of the world's major monotheistic religions, mostly Jerusalem, Fez and Rome. The subject of every work is a religious mass, a large group of people coming together for prayer, worship or ritual. But what sets Pacanowski's photos apart is not their subject matter or their composition, or the glorious colors he captures. It is the almost unbelievable fact that he uses no post-production techniques of any kind. Let me say that again:

He uses no post-production techniques of any kind. Not only that, each of the images is captured with old fashioned film. Absolutely nothing digital about these photographs.

I'm guessing your reaction is like mine when I saw these photos for the first time: disbelief. But it's true. Then how? How did he do it? Well I was tempted to ask him just that when I saw him at the inauguration, but I was overcome by a rare bout of shyness, and a worry that I hadn't read the press release thoroughly, so not wanting to embarrass myself, I kept my mouth shut.

After a bit of post-exhibit studying, I found out his secret. (Spoiler alert, if you'd prefer to visit the exhibit without knowing, stop reading now!)

Each photograph is merely a reflection of an image. None of the subjects were shot directly. Some kind surface, such as canvas, wood or glass, was applied with either chalk, paint, silicone or some other substance, and then scratched or in other ways manipulated. Then the prepared surface was set up in such a way that it caught the reflection of the subject and voilà.

These mesmerizing photos look at once like watercolors, complete abstract art and impressionist paintings. Like impressionist art, many of them have to be looked at from several steps back to be able to recognize the subject. But by studying them close up, you are able to guess at some of the particulars of the preparatory technique, which is every bit as fascinating.

A tiny computer screen will never do justice to these amazing photos, so do yourself a favor and go see this astounding exhibit in person. See my Exhibits on Now page for visiting information.

I will leave you with the capolavoro of the exhibition. At first you may simply see a Catholic procession and nothing else. But look a little closer, or, on second thought, look a little further away. Once you see it you won't be able to imagine how you missed it before.

All images copyright Andrea Pacanowski and provided courtesy of Zètema Press Office.

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Georgia O'Keeffe: An American Icon in Rome

Last time I wrote (nearly 3 weeks ago! for shame!) Rome was in the midst of a delightful extended summer, where short sleeves and sandals were still the uniform. But autumn arrived suddenly and mercilessly, and overcoats and scarves replaced their lighter counterparts from one day to the next.

There is one thing that can make up for the decided chill in the air, and that is the explosion of exhibitions beginning this month. Check out the recently updated Exhibit on now page to see what’s new.

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