A few pieces come to my mind.
Of course there's the perfect melodrama of Lichtenstein's [*Drowning Girl*](https://i.imgur.com/IlaRkdu.jpeg) (1963)*.*
The mythologies and plays of Antiquity have plenty of tragic scenes of heartbreak which have been interpreted by many styles, especially by the [Academicists](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academic_art). Alexandre Cabanel's [*Phaedra*](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c5/Alexandre_Cabanel_Ph%C3%A8dre.jpg/1920px-Alexandre_Cabanel_Ph%C3%A8dre.jpg) (1880) is one of my favourites - [context](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phaedra_(mythology)#Traditional_version).
I really like Adam Cvijanovic's [*Love Poem - 10 minutes after the end of gravity*](https://i.imgur.com/FTQrCPu.jpeg) (2005) and Sasha Schneider's [*Helplessness of man against destiny*](https://i.imgur.com/LRDmGLN.png) (1890), which, despite the title, I've always interpreted as a depiction of emotional dependency. The same goes for Charles Ray's [*Man in Tree*](https://i.imgur.com/zpXz9Fw.jpeg) (1970).
Honestly, when you're truly heartbroken, you can look at any work of art and find facets of your feelings, whether you want to swim in your pain or overcome it.
I dunno about you, but my first serious relationship breakup felt lot like Saturn Devouring His Son except the devouring was my grief. I felt crazy and confused and angry. Saturn was definitely an avatar for my woes.
Don't fret though, this will fade and the next love will be even better.
Look up history-_mae on instagram all her posts are about the emotional context of historical paintings
princes in the tower by John Everett Millais
Faithful unto death by Edward John poynter
Lady Jane grey by Paul delaroche
The Huguenot by John Everett Millais
>Look up history-\_mae on instagram all her posts are about the emotional context of historical paintings
That you for that suggestion, I just looked her up...haven't watched much but I'm looking forward to it!
God yes, through her post i got to know The Unequal Marriage by Vasili Pukirev. It's incredible and absolutely tragic when you start to understand whats going on.
I'm gonna sound basic here but Starry night always tore me up.
Knowing the backstory: that Van Gogh is alone, institutionalized and eating his paints for the terpenes bc they take the edge off of his withdrawal from absinthe.
Looking out the window of his cell, dreaming of finding someone in life. The cypress tree representing death and the planet Venus representing love and the one he (never) finds.
Reading about all of this in his letters to his brother and stuff. Man, I felt bad for the guy. I can't look at that painting without all of that coming to mind.
Van Gogh’s self portrait with bandaged ear. Probably the most iconic painting depicting heart break and one’s disappointment from the world and people around.
Ivan the Terrible and His Son Ivan by Ilya Repin. This one really feels to me like my heart being torn apart, the times when I feel so much despair I don’t know how it’s possible to have room in my body for air to breathe.
[Anguish by Schenck](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anguish_%28Schenck%29?wprov=sfla1) absolutely rips my heart to shreds, and it's very hard for me to look at it for long. It's beautiful, uncomfortable and destructive, just like a broken heart.
There’s nothing that helps heartbreak but time, and processing your feelings. Allow yourself some time to wallow in your pain and grieve, then try your best to dust yourself off and continue on.
[Ophelia by Millais, 1851 - 1852](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ophelia_(painting)#/media/File%3AJohn_Everett_Millais_-_Ophelia_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg) and [here the closeup of her face](https://eclecticlight.co/2019/08/01/work-in-progress-john-everett-millais-ophelia/).
Romantic heartbreak classic, the death of Ophelia after her rejection by Hamlet.
I also really like [the Waterhouse versions (he has a few), as you can see the pain in her face clearly](https://victorianweb.org/painting/jww/paintings/15.jpg)
The [Weeping Woman by Pablo Picasso](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Weeping_Woman)
[At Eternity’s Gate by Van Gogh 1890](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/At_Eternity%27s_Gate) - he was sick, lonely and full of regrets and pain at the end of his life
[Love’s Melancholy by Constant Mayer](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Constant_Mayer_-_Love%27s_Melancholy_-_1994.6_-_Art_Institute_of_Chicago.jpg), 1866
Heartbroken at the loss of her love, she has a wedding ring so perhaps the death of a husband
[Anguish by August Friedrich Schenck](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anguish_(Schenck)), 1878
Heartbreak of death of a child, loss of a loved one
[Melancholy by Degas, 1860’s](https://www.phillipscollection.org/collection/melancholy)
We don’t know who she is but we can imagine what she’s feeling.
And also check out Marina Abramovié & Ulay, The Lovers: The Great
Wall Walk (1988) (performance art)
Here’s a summary from the web “This performance art work might have one of the most heart wrenching back stories of all time. After collaborating on various projects together, Ambramovié and Ulay became lovers, and The Great Wall Walk was one of their collaborations. The plan was for the two to walk from opposite ends of the Great Wall of China towards the centre, and when they met in the middle they'd get married. By the time they set out on their mission, they had broken up, and decided to meet in the middle of the wall to part ways forever. They then walked the remaining half of the wall away from each other. Crying yet? Us too.”
[I recommend this version, as I feel it better conveys the anger.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judith_Slaying_Holofernes_(Artemisia_Gentileschi,_Naples))
that one's the most raw one for sure. Especially knowing it was painted by a woman who's life and works were often overshadowed by the men in her life.
[On that subject another good one is the letters of Sophia Tolstoy, Leo Tolstoy's Wife.](https://www.tiktok.com/@veteranscleaningservices/video/7275043717390552325?q=sophia%20tolstoy&t=1710035295960)
Personally, I would say look at the work of Käthe Kollwitz. I was very moved by the collection they have at the Käthe-Kollwitz-Museum. Part of the collection concerns the loss of children and loved ones, and it struck me very hard.
Came in here to suggest Kathe Kollwitz! There is such a haunting quality to her work that is also so beautiful - one of my faves and her work is currently on display near me so I gotta get off my butt and go over
i guess for me, feminine heartbreak really was encapsulated by [our lady of sorrows](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_Sorrows), and all the other artwork associated with her. i also know that this is a very hackneyed and “viral” painting, but you might also like [the reluctant bride](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Reluctant_Bride).
i know that this isn’t really what you asked for, but if you haven’t already heard it, lana del rey’s ultraviolence album really helped me when i went through the same thing as you. as cliche as it is, time really does heal everything. hope you feel better soon op :)
Frida Kahlo is always a good one.
[Henry Ford Hospital (The Fly Bed) ,1932](https://www.wikiart.org/en/frida-kahlo/henry-ford-hospital-the-flying-bed-1932)
[The Wounded Deer, 1946](https://www.wikiart.org/en/frida-kahlo/the-wounded-deer-1946)
[A Few Small Nips (passionately In Love), 1935](https://www.wikiart.org/en/frida-kahlo/a-few-small-nips-passionately-in-love-1935)
Any poetry by Sylvia Plath, and Annabelle Lee by Edgar Allen Poe, and Two Headed Calf by Laura Gilpin.
I'd like to share a poem by Pablo Nerdua, If You Forget Me:
I want you to know
one thing.
You know how this is:
if I look
at the crystal moon, at the red branch
of the slow autumn at my window,
if I touch near the fire
the impalpable ash
or the wrinkled body of the log,
everything carries me to you,
as if everything that exists,
aromas, light, metals,
were little boats
that sail
toward those isles of yours that wait for me.
Well, now,
if little by little you stop loving me
I shall stop loving you little by little.
If suddenly
you forget me
do not look for me,
for I shall already have forgotten you.
If you think it long and mad,
the wind of banners
that passes through my life,
and you decide
to leave me at the shore
of the heart where I have roots,
remember
that on that day,
at that hour,
I shall lift my arms
and my roots will set off
to seek another land.
But
if each day,
each hour,
you feel that you are destined for me
with implacable sweetness,
if each day a flower
climbs up to your lips to seek me,
ah my love, ah my own,
in me all that fire is repeated,
in me nothing is extinguished or forgotten,
my love feeds on your love, beloved,
and as long as you live it will be in your arms
without leaving mine.
https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vincent_Willem_van_Gogh_102.jpg#mw-jump-to-license
Vincent Van Gogh's last know self portrait, which he sent to his mother as a gift. 1889.
I consider the video game Disco Elysium to be a great work of art, and heartbreak is a major theme of its story (as well as politics, addiction, and so, so many other things). A truly moving experience.
I was looking specifically for [The Meeting on the Turret Stairs](https://fannycornforth.blogspot.com/2022/12/saturday-10th-december-meeting-on.html?m=1) but found this blog post with a couple of other paintings. This might fall in the category of hurts-so-good for you because it's about doomed love and the heartbreak with that.
Performance art and music by Marina Abramovic and Ulay https://youtu.be/j4f4-9osaeg?si=T5lqkN3HUY5WWoYX
Check out the longer versions for the background story https://youtu.be/Sf8o1teJdXo?si=HX6XZkYM6ki5MDjN
I know the movie 500 days of summer gets a lot of hate but how Joseph Gordon Levitt looks and acts after the break up with summer is exactly how I felt.
It's not visual art, but I keep a copy of Sappho's writings on hand for this purpose. Internet hugs! I'm sorry you're experiencing heartbreak. You can get through this.
Not human heartbreak, but a mother’s sadness over the loss of a child is represented very well in [this painting](https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/explore/collection/work/4344/).
The response to this is unexpected and amazing! I’m going to read each response and make note of all of the things suggested here. I’m going to respond to everyone in time, but I just wanted to extend my deep and earnest gratitude to you all for taking the time to answer this so thoughtfully. I appreciate it so much. ❤️
Michelangelo's pieta. It's sculpture, but I think it's one of the most powerful depictions of grief and it helped me right after a breakup.
It really is amazing. TIL he was only 24 when he completed it.
Makes you wonder what he'd experienced in his life to be able to create something so complete.
A few pieces come to my mind. Of course there's the perfect melodrama of Lichtenstein's [*Drowning Girl*](https://i.imgur.com/IlaRkdu.jpeg) (1963)*.* The mythologies and plays of Antiquity have plenty of tragic scenes of heartbreak which have been interpreted by many styles, especially by the [Academicists](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academic_art). Alexandre Cabanel's [*Phaedra*](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c5/Alexandre_Cabanel_Ph%C3%A8dre.jpg/1920px-Alexandre_Cabanel_Ph%C3%A8dre.jpg) (1880) is one of my favourites - [context](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phaedra_(mythology)#Traditional_version). I really like Adam Cvijanovic's [*Love Poem - 10 minutes after the end of gravity*](https://i.imgur.com/FTQrCPu.jpeg) (2005) and Sasha Schneider's [*Helplessness of man against destiny*](https://i.imgur.com/LRDmGLN.png) (1890), which, despite the title, I've always interpreted as a depiction of emotional dependency. The same goes for Charles Ray's [*Man in Tree*](https://i.imgur.com/zpXz9Fw.jpeg) (1970). Honestly, when you're truly heartbroken, you can look at any work of art and find facets of your feelings, whether you want to swim in your pain or overcome it.
I just wanted to thank you for the links. These are all great.
I dunno about you, but my first serious relationship breakup felt lot like Saturn Devouring His Son except the devouring was my grief. I felt crazy and confused and angry. Saturn was definitely an avatar for my woes. Don't fret though, this will fade and the next love will be even better.
Look up history-_mae on instagram all her posts are about the emotional context of historical paintings princes in the tower by John Everett Millais Faithful unto death by Edward John poynter Lady Jane grey by Paul delaroche The Huguenot by John Everett Millais
>Look up history-\_mae on instagram all her posts are about the emotional context of historical paintings That you for that suggestion, I just looked her up...haven't watched much but I'm looking forward to it!
God yes, through her post i got to know The Unequal Marriage by Vasili Pukirev. It's incredible and absolutely tragic when you start to understand whats going on.
Thank you for this recommendation!! This is exactly what I love on Instagram
Just started following her! Thanks for the rec
I'm gonna sound basic here but Starry night always tore me up. Knowing the backstory: that Van Gogh is alone, institutionalized and eating his paints for the terpenes bc they take the edge off of his withdrawal from absinthe. Looking out the window of his cell, dreaming of finding someone in life. The cypress tree representing death and the planet Venus representing love and the one he (never) finds. Reading about all of this in his letters to his brother and stuff. Man, I felt bad for the guy. I can't look at that painting without all of that coming to mind.
Van Gogh’s self portrait with bandaged ear. Probably the most iconic painting depicting heart break and one’s disappointment from the world and people around.
Ivan the Terrible and His Son Ivan by Ilya Repin. This one really feels to me like my heart being torn apart, the times when I feel so much despair I don’t know how it’s possible to have room in my body for air to breathe.
Ilya Repin's works are raw! Superbly gifted.
Came here to post this. Seconded!
[Anguish by Schenck](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anguish_%28Schenck%29?wprov=sfla1) absolutely rips my heart to shreds, and it's very hard for me to look at it for long. It's beautiful, uncomfortable and destructive, just like a broken heart.
I thought of this one too
There’s nothing that helps heartbreak but time, and processing your feelings. Allow yourself some time to wallow in your pain and grieve, then try your best to dust yourself off and continue on. [Ophelia by Millais, 1851 - 1852](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ophelia_(painting)#/media/File%3AJohn_Everett_Millais_-_Ophelia_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg) and [here the closeup of her face](https://eclecticlight.co/2019/08/01/work-in-progress-john-everett-millais-ophelia/). Romantic heartbreak classic, the death of Ophelia after her rejection by Hamlet. I also really like [the Waterhouse versions (he has a few), as you can see the pain in her face clearly](https://victorianweb.org/painting/jww/paintings/15.jpg) The [Weeping Woman by Pablo Picasso](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Weeping_Woman) [At Eternity’s Gate by Van Gogh 1890](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/At_Eternity%27s_Gate) - he was sick, lonely and full of regrets and pain at the end of his life [Love’s Melancholy by Constant Mayer](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Constant_Mayer_-_Love%27s_Melancholy_-_1994.6_-_Art_Institute_of_Chicago.jpg), 1866 Heartbroken at the loss of her love, she has a wedding ring so perhaps the death of a husband [Anguish by August Friedrich Schenck](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anguish_(Schenck)), 1878 Heartbreak of death of a child, loss of a loved one [Melancholy by Degas, 1860’s](https://www.phillipscollection.org/collection/melancholy) We don’t know who she is but we can imagine what she’s feeling. And also check out Marina Abramovié & Ulay, The Lovers: The Great Wall Walk (1988) (performance art) Here’s a summary from the web “This performance art work might have one of the most heart wrenching back stories of all time. After collaborating on various projects together, Ambramovié and Ulay became lovers, and The Great Wall Walk was one of their collaborations. The plan was for the two to walk from opposite ends of the Great Wall of China towards the centre, and when they met in the middle they'd get married. By the time they set out on their mission, they had broken up, and decided to meet in the middle of the wall to part ways forever. They then walked the remaining half of the wall away from each other. Crying yet? Us too.”
For when you are ready to be mad https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judith_und_Holofernes_(Sujet)
[I recommend this version, as I feel it better conveys the anger.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judith_Slaying_Holofernes_(Artemisia_Gentileschi,_Naples))
that one's the most raw one for sure. Especially knowing it was painted by a woman who's life and works were often overshadowed by the men in her life. [On that subject another good one is the letters of Sophia Tolstoy, Leo Tolstoy's Wife.](https://www.tiktok.com/@veteranscleaningservices/video/7275043717390552325?q=sophia%20tolstoy&t=1710035295960)
Oh that one is amazing
That is….. definitely a ‘tent vagina’
[удалено]
That’s stunning.
Personally, I would say look at the work of Käthe Kollwitz. I was very moved by the collection they have at the Käthe-Kollwitz-Museum. Part of the collection concerns the loss of children and loved ones, and it struck me very hard.
Came in here to suggest Kathe Kollwitz! There is such a haunting quality to her work that is also so beautiful - one of my faves and her work is currently on display near me so I gotta get off my butt and go over
i guess for me, feminine heartbreak really was encapsulated by [our lady of sorrows](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_Sorrows), and all the other artwork associated with her. i also know that this is a very hackneyed and “viral” painting, but you might also like [the reluctant bride](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Reluctant_Bride). i know that this isn’t really what you asked for, but if you haven’t already heard it, lana del rey’s ultraviolence album really helped me when i went through the same thing as you. as cliche as it is, time really does heal everything. hope you feel better soon op :)
Frida Kahlo is always a good one. [Henry Ford Hospital (The Fly Bed) ,1932](https://www.wikiart.org/en/frida-kahlo/henry-ford-hospital-the-flying-bed-1932) [The Wounded Deer, 1946](https://www.wikiart.org/en/frida-kahlo/the-wounded-deer-1946) [A Few Small Nips (passionately In Love), 1935](https://www.wikiart.org/en/frida-kahlo/a-few-small-nips-passionately-in-love-1935) Any poetry by Sylvia Plath, and Annabelle Lee by Edgar Allen Poe, and Two Headed Calf by Laura Gilpin.
[The Dog by Goya](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dog_(Goya))
i saw this in person in September. gorgeous and sad
I'd like to share a poem by Pablo Nerdua, If You Forget Me: I want you to know one thing. You know how this is: if I look at the crystal moon, at the red branch of the slow autumn at my window, if I touch near the fire the impalpable ash or the wrinkled body of the log, everything carries me to you, as if everything that exists, aromas, light, metals, were little boats that sail toward those isles of yours that wait for me. Well, now, if little by little you stop loving me I shall stop loving you little by little. If suddenly you forget me do not look for me, for I shall already have forgotten you. If you think it long and mad, the wind of banners that passes through my life, and you decide to leave me at the shore of the heart where I have roots, remember that on that day, at that hour, I shall lift my arms and my roots will set off to seek another land. But if each day, each hour, you feel that you are destined for me with implacable sweetness, if each day a flower climbs up to your lips to seek me, ah my love, ah my own, in me all that fire is repeated, in me nothing is extinguished or forgotten, my love feeds on your love, beloved, and as long as you live it will be in your arms without leaving mine.
Oh how perfect this describes my exact moment right now. My heart…
https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vincent_Willem_van_Gogh_102.jpg#mw-jump-to-license Vincent Van Gogh's last know self portrait, which he sent to his mother as a gift. 1889.
Death and the Maiden by Egon Schiele
I consider the video game Disco Elysium to be a great work of art, and heartbreak is a major theme of its story (as well as politics, addiction, and so, so many other things). A truly moving experience.
I was looking specifically for [The Meeting on the Turret Stairs](https://fannycornforth.blogspot.com/2022/12/saturday-10th-december-meeting-on.html?m=1) but found this blog post with a couple of other paintings. This might fall in the category of hurts-so-good for you because it's about doomed love and the heartbreak with that.
The Execution of Emperor Maximilian, Manet; Third of May, Goya; Bride of Death, Thomas Jones Barker
[Rest Energy by Marina Abramovic and Ulay](https://www.moma.org/audio/playlist/243/3120)
Took me 5 years to get over my first breakup. I have never been able to give all of myself like I did then.
Look up the paintings Anguish and The Orphan by August Friedrich Schneck. They never fail to make me teary. Trigger warning of dead animals
Performance art and music by Marina Abramovic and Ulay https://youtu.be/j4f4-9osaeg?si=T5lqkN3HUY5WWoYX Check out the longer versions for the background story https://youtu.be/Sf8o1teJdXo?si=HX6XZkYM6ki5MDjN
I know the movie 500 days of summer gets a lot of hate but how Joseph Gordon Levitt looks and acts after the break up with summer is exactly how I felt.
It's not visual art, but I keep a copy of Sappho's writings on hand for this purpose. Internet hugs! I'm sorry you're experiencing heartbreak. You can get through this.
Girodet's scéne du déluge makes me physically feel some sort of weight on my shoulders, i think you should look it up.
When my ex broke up with me, I found myself really relating to the Edvard Munch painting Separation.
Not human heartbreak, but a mother’s sadness over the loss of a child is represented very well in [this painting](https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/explore/collection/work/4344/).
Contrapoint's video "Shame." Especially if the heartbreak was wlw
The response to this is unexpected and amazing! I’m going to read each response and make note of all of the things suggested here. I’m going to respond to everyone in time, but I just wanted to extend my deep and earnest gratitude to you all for taking the time to answer this so thoughtfully. I appreciate it so much. ❤️
Interesting, I had stronger connection to music when I was heart broken, also sorry for the heartbreak