A sensual portrait of a Princess
The artist could only get away with such a sensuous full-length portrait, reminiscent of harem scenes and odalisques, because of the Princess’ unassailable social position.
Her gently arched eyebrows and gaze out to the viewer acknowledges you who stands before her.
Portrait of Leonilla, Princess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn, 1843, Franz Xaver Winterhalter. Oil on canvas. The J. Paul Getty Museum.
The opposite of Loneliness is not Togetherness, It’s Intimacy.
Why didn’t it happen between us? Why did I fail? Why did you come close enough… and no closer ?
I love you more than you think is proper.
I’ve been loved the same way,
By someone whom I did not find adequate,
Whom I did not think appropriate.
But I tried to love him.
You have not tried to love me.
At least I gain this insight into my friend
That I can relate with his disappointment
That I can be compassionate to his discomfort
That I can be compassionate to yours.
And, maybe, one day, you’ll love me;
Maybe, one day, you’ll embrace me
And I’ll be loved the way I love, by you,
With all the truth and dreaminess,
With all the hope and longing,
With all the romance and beauty
That I see in you…
That I live in me.
The most important thing is to be true to yourself, however you feel, and not try to feel or behave differently because you think you should, or someone has told you how you must feel. But do think about it. Unexamined feelings lead to all kinds of trouble.
She was bad at love. She loved too hard.
She was one of those people who are irrevocably, incurably honest and therefore both inflexible and vulnerable at the same time.
Love is… never asking for more than you are prepared to give.
If you find yourself constantly trying to prove your worth to someone, you have already forgotten your value.
Just living is not enough… one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.
Sometimes words aren’t enough.
If you have ever lost someone very important to you, then you already know how it feels, and if you haven’t, you cannot possibly imagine it.
The main thing is, pay attention. Pay close attention to everything, everything you see. Notice what no one else notices, and you’ll know what no one else knows. What you get is what you get. What you do with what you get, that’s more the point.
In the Hellenistic period, artists were interested in more than just standard ideal figures. Bronze—surpassing marble with its tensile strength, reflective effects, and ability to hold fine detail—was employed for dynamic compositions, dazzling displays of the nude body, and graphic expressions of age and character.
This image is of an athlete, fresh from competition, with a realistic disheveled head of hair. The finely chiseled strands are swept up and around in different directions creating this dynamic hairstyle.
Now on view in “Power and Pathos” at the Getty Center through November 1.
Statue of an Athlete (Apoxyomenos), A.D. 1-90. Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, Antikensammlung. Image courtesy of and © KHM-Museumsverband. Collection of Greek and Roman Antiquities / Ephesos Museum
It’s not weak to stand by the person you love when they’re trying to fix a big mistake, and it’s not weak to decide to put yourself first.
You shouldn’t be a prisoner of your own ideas.
We have to create.
It is the only thing louder than destruction.
The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind.
Everything’s a risk. Not doing anything is a risk. It’s up to you.
Oceans of Mine 