5 Artworks in 5 Museums: Love and Romance in Paris

No one can blame you for looking to Paris, the city of love, for Valentine’s Day inspiration and fun. But there’s more to it than a kiss at the Eiffel Tower. The city ignites romance, from iconic attractions down to the art housed in must-see museums. Such works sometimes reflect the love lives of the artists, or take inspiration from love stories as old as time. This Valentine’s Day consider taking your loved one on a tour of five of the most romantic pieces across Paris, in five diverse museums. These are my personal favorites.

1. Marie dé Medici cycle by Peter Paul Rubens

This complete series takes up its room with wall-length paintings. Each depicts Marie dé Medici as a gift to her husband, King Henry IV, as they became a couple. The cycle contains 24 different portraits that depict Marie’s life, featuring her memories as well as moments with her family and husband. They were a mix of historical paintings as well as allegorical paintings, showcasing her as a person beyond the simple memory in question.

The cycle began, however, with a bold statement of romance from Marie to King Henry IV. The painting depicts Cupid bringing a portrait of her to the king as his future bride. It was presented to him before he had met her, as a symbol of her love and wish to be his wife, and won him over. It was considered a very bold statement at the time but worked in her favor in romancing Henry IV. Maybe we can take some notes from her straightforwardness.

You can find these paintings in the Louvre.

2. Bal du moulin de la Galette, by Auguste Renoir

This painting is considered one of Impressionism’s most celebrated art pieces. The painting depicts a normal Sunday afternoon at the original Moulin de la Galette, which was a windmill made into an outdoor tavern. At the time it was painted, working-class Parisians would come on Sundays to dance and drink, as well as eat galettes. 

A simple snapshot of life in Paris showing the culture and way of life inherently brings the joy and romance we all seek from the city. This painting showcases that essence in the little things, and seeing it in person conveys that feeling to the viewer like a warm hug. While the painting itself isn’t romantic in the traditional sense, it reflects the Parisian joie de vivre, whether inside a partnership or simply by walking down the street.

You can find this painting at the Musée d’Orsay.

3. Coquelicots (Poppies) by Claude Monet 

When Claude Monet returned to France from England, he settled into the countryside to paint his muses there. While he was glad to return home, his art also took on a new simplistic and romantic style as his inspirations returned to him. A domestic lifestyle inspired paintings like this one at this point in his life. The painting depicts a stroll on a beautiful day, the subjects are assumed to be his wife and their child outside near their home in Argenteuil. 

This time in his life inspired works that showed more bright colors and softer landscapes, encompassing the love and care he felt from his family and surroundings. The painting can be thought of as a romantic gesture itself, the idea of one’s muse being the people one loves most.

You can find this painting at Musée Marmottan Monet (2 Rue Louis Boilly, 16th, open every day except Monday from 10 am to 6 pm)

4. The Kiss by Auguste Rodin

The Kiss statue was originally crafted in the likeness of Paolo and Francesca, who were two characters borrowed from Dante’s Divine Comedy. The couple is slain by Francesca’s husband right after they share their first kiss, the two lovers are left to wander eternally through Hell together. What’s more romantic than that? 

The sculpture has no specific indications of being those characters, so the public named it The Kiss once it debuted in Rodin’s collection of independent works later on in 1887. The two lovers are forever locked in the embrace of one another and share that first and final kiss, a statement of everlasting love.

This sculpture can be found at Musée Rodin (77 Rue de Varenne, 7th, open daily from 10 am to 6:30 pm, closed Mondays)

5. Adam and Eve by Suzanne Valadon

This painting created in 1909 is a personal retelling of the story of Adam and Eve. Valadon at the time was in a relationship with a much younger artist, André Utter, and was said to have painted this portrayal in their image as a couple. It was also considered the first time a painting by a female artist was exhibited publicly while having nudity in it. Valadon was quoted as saying she and Utter were “caught in a timeless paradise” and “both responsible for their sins.” Viewers say that the visual of Eve happily reaching for the apple was a commentary on Valadon’s happiness in their relationship no matter how taboo it may have seemed to others. 

She had enough care for her partner to depict them as Adam and Eve, the first instances of true love and sin. It is a stunning piece to end your tour on and relish the deep feelings that all of these pieces showcase through the love of their creators.

You can find this painting at the Centre Pompidou, currently showing in the dedicated Suzanne Valadon exhibit.