The Kiss

Never one to miss an opportunity to seek out a masterpiece of any kind, excitement reached fever pitch when it came to my attention that a piece of sculpture I just had to see was on loan to the National Galleries of Scotland. Rodin's The Kiss is without doubt at the top of my list of artworks to behold in the flesh, so even a slice of chocolate cake and a cuppa were put on hold as I took myself along to see it for myself.
Rodin, one of the most gifted French sculptors of the nineteenth century, was celebrated for his amazing ability to model the human body with what can only be described as sensuous realism. Carved out of pentelic marble, The Kiss depicts young lovers Paolo Malatesta and Francesca da Rimini, characters from the fourteenth century epic poem Dante's Inferno. Their passion grew as they read together the story of Lancelot and Guinevere, and indeed a copy of the book can just be seen in Paolo's hand. The adulterous couple were put to death by the jealous Giovanni Malatesta, the deformed elder brother of Paolo and husband of Francesca, albeit in an arranged marriage. Their lips, so the story goes, had barely met in their first kiss before the tragic tale unfolded.

Rodin in fact produced three full-scale marble versions of The Kiss. The one currently resident in Edinburgh was commissioned in 1900 by a gentleman called Edward Perry Warren, an Anglo-American antiquarian. Once in his possession, he lent the sculpture to Lewes Town Hall in 1913, where its frank nudity caused such a hullabaloo it had to be covered by a sheet! But things change, time moves on, and today this remarkable sculpture is considered to be one of the greatest artistic evocations of physical love. But is it truly awe-inspiring as you stand and behold it for the first time? It was to me ..... and I was not alone in these feelings. The stark contrast of the smooth skin of the two lovers and the rough marble of the rock upon which they are sitting, the freshness of their desire for one another, of blossoming romance and a love that was never to be consummated, a tragedy so brilliantly depicted by the master Rodin. This iconic image of forbidden love, erotic, sensual, evocative, yet tender almost with an air of innocence, is truly moving. One of the greatest images of sexual love, it is visually stimulating from every angle - the promise of the kiss, her arms drawing his face towards her, Paolo's hand resting lightly on her hip as her leg is draped over his ..... the more you look at this breathtaking marble sculpture with its romantic sensuality, the more you are drawn in. So please take a moment to call in and see this for yourself. It costs nothing but a few minutes of your time ..... and the National Galleries of Scotland are well worth a visit in their own right.