kiss me, you fool

While in Europe, Becky saw Gustav Klimt's The Kiss. I have seen the painting before, so I should not have been jealous, but oddly I was. It is a beautiful painting from Klimt's gold period where he utilized a lot of gold leaf that adds a great deal of texture to his paintings. (I heart texture!) His style is unique and elegant. The faces of Klimt's characters are delicate and detailed while the clothing they wear is decorated with bold patterns and shapes. The combination of his style and the content of The Kiss makes this painting one of my favorite artistic works. It is graphic and romantic - truly lovely.


When Becky mentioned this painting, I immediately thought of a painting I saw in Ireland called, The Meeting on the Turret Stairs. The styles are completely different, but the content is similar. They both capture passion in a sweet romantic way. (Well, The Meeting on the Turret Stairs seems like forbidden love...) There is a delicacy to the interaction between the couples in both works that is heart warming. I am outwardly a realist - usually pessimistic about the world and human nature despite my personal optimistic outlook on life. I expect the worst, but hope for the best. That hope is part of my closet romantic side that loves these paintings.


Procrastinating as usual, my romantic side triggered me to search the internet for famous kisses. I have a magnet of the famous Victory of Japan Day kiss, but what else could I find? Some how my searches turned into movie kiss searches. I eventually found this bizarre site that didn't select best kisses because of passion or love but best kisses because they were "firsts" in some sort of category, like first vampire kiss seen in the movie, A Fool There Was. I love vampires, but that is not why I was drawn to this kiss. I was drawn to it because of the movie stills the website selected:


This vampire lured a married man away with kisses and the catch phrase, "Kiss me, my fool!" I love silent films and that classy line. I need to see this movie now. This kiss website also features the first "Shameful Dentist's Chair Anesthetized Kiss," aka Dentist rape, in the 1924 film Greed. Wow.

Ok, I can't reference movie kisses without mentioning my favorite - The Notebook. It isn't my favorite movie, but the passion of their rain kiss is amazing.


Allie: "Why didn't you write me? Why? It wasn't over for me, I waited for you for seven years. But now it's too late."
Noah: "I wrote you 365 letters. I wrote you everyday for a year."
Allie: "You wrote me?"
Noah: "Yes. It wasn't over, it still isn't over." And Noah kisses Allie.

**Romantic sigh**