The ten most famous kisses in the history of art

1. Roy Lichtenstein - “Kiss V” (1964)

Tears, a kiss, an embrace. A heartbreaking separation or a warm reunion? This silkscreen by Roy Lichtenstein shows the power and emotion of the union of two people. Characterised by a pop, colourful universe, the comic-book-style work is inspired by the graphic codes of the comic strip.

2. Gustav Klimt - “The Kiss” (1907-08)

In his golden period, Gustav Klimt painted one of the most famous love scenes in the history of art. Set against a backdrop of eroticism, this kiss brings together a woman and a man who seem to be abandoning themselves to each other. With its obvious asymmetry, this body-to-body encounter immersed in gold resembles an almost sacred icon. No one would dare disturb these two...

3. Magritte - “The Lovers” (1928)

Love with a hidden face. This woman and this man seem so close and yet so far apart. This paradoxical distance gives Magritte's work beauty and mystery. When he was an adolescent, Magritte's mother drowned, her nightdress covering her face. Is this a possible connection?

The artist leaves us free to interpret. Deep love, denial, refusal or simply the unknown - these are the likely endings. A masterpiece of surrealism in which romanticism, bludgeoned and sealed in a closed space, prevents any communication, even the slightest kiss, which is nevertheless sealed behind these white fabrics. Symbol of life or death? According to the artist, his compositions have no real meaning...

4. Rodin - “The Kiss” (around 1882)

One of the most famous love scenes in the history of art. True, romantic love in its purest form. Two people in each other's arms, sculpted from a single piece of marble, free to love each other for eternity. A poignant embrace, but one that turns out to be more anecdotal than it seems. Francesca da Ramini, the woman depicted in this sculpture, is kissing her lover. Having caught them in the act of love, Francesca's husband kills them both, condemning them to an indefinite wandering in the Underworld.

These characters, taken from the poem "The Divine Comedy" by Dante Alighieri, were originally intended to be a set of sculptures, but given the success of these two lovers, Rodin made this work independent, without ever agreeing on the true identity of these (cursed?) lovers...

5. Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec - “In the bed, the kiss” (between 1892 and 1893)

Let's take a look at this loving embrace by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. This scene of infinite beauty reveals the passion of female love. Both covered in a sheet, the young women seem to want nothing more of each other. An intense, intimate and sensual moment. The artist immortalised the tenderness of these exchanges between two supposed prostitutes.

6. Banksy - “Kissing Coppers” (2004)

Banksy left his mark in Brighton, England. In 2004, he painted a homosexual couple of policemen kissing on a wall. This street painting became a real tourist attraction and left no one indifferent. The stencil was sold at auction in Miami in 2014 for the modest sum of $575,000 (around €418,000 at the time).

Couple or just partners? Whatever the case, this work depicts the close relationship that exists between the members of the police force, who here retain their official paraphernalia (handcuffs for one and Billy's club for the other) and are perhaps born of the artist's desire to ridicule them in an act of protest against authority.

7. Marc Chagall - “Birthday” (1915)

Marc Chagall celebrates love. Returning to Russia to propose to his girlfriend Bella, he depicts a scene from everyday life where a couple is celebrating a birthday, that of Chagall, whose body floats happily around the room. Has love given him wings?

Bella has meticulously prepared everything for a day of celebration for the couple. A bouquet in her hands, a cake on the table, everything has been done to make her husband the happiest of men. Although surreal, this romantic scene radiates poetry, almost supernatural... But where have Chagall's arms gone?

8. Victor Jorgensen - “Kissing the War Goodbye” (1945)

We are in New York on 14 August 1945 and Japan has just surrendered. It was a day of victory for the United States, as evidenced by this passionate kiss between a US Navy sailor, Glenn McDuffly, and a young nurse, Edith Shain. The end of the Second World War is illustrated by the many scenes of joy scattered around Times Square that day. This photograph was taken by US Navy journalist Victor Jorgensen.

Another photographer, Alfred Eisenstaedt, also captured the scene from a different perspective. In this photograph, we can see Times Square in the background and the bodies of the two protagonists in their entirety. Eisenstaedt wrote of them: "The contrast between the white dress of the nurse and the black uniform of the sailor gives the photograph all its emotion.

9. Antonio Canova - “Psyche revived by Love's kiss” (between 1787 and 1793)

Love is also a major inspiration for sculptors! The artist Antonio Canova created the magnificent statue "Psyche revived by Love's kiss", which unites Cupid and Psyche. The winged young man comes to meet the young woman, who is lying unconscious on a rock.

Plunged into a very deep sleep after having opened a bottle despite the formal prohibition of Venus, Cupid's mother, she is tenderly embraced by Cupid, who makes sure that she is still very much alive. He pulls her to her feet, and she lovingly grabs the back of his neck, having finally regained the awareness of loving and being loved in return.

10. Constantin Brâncuși - “The Kiss” (1909)

The fusion of two bodies into one. That's the beauty of this sculpture by Constantin Brâncuși. The Franco-Romanian sculptor's treatment of love is almost abstract. These two bodies intertwined to become one symbolise total fusion. A single block of limestone was enough to create this union, in which this woman and this man are so close that the final result is almost deceptive.