Art and Lovers Meet in the Royal Collection

The Royal Collection Trust, of which The Queen’s Gallery in Edinburgh is a part, holds a number of works in its collection inspired by Valentine’s Day and romance. They include: A Pair of Lovers by the French painter and printmaker Bernard Picart (1673–1733), a watercolour in which an amorous courtly couple is depicted in an idealised rustic setting; Venus and Cupid by the Italian painter Giorgio Vasari (1511–74), pictured, in which Cupid is depicted as the god of love and Venus as the goddess of beauty; and Ishqnamah (Persian: Book of Love), a volume from the Royal Library which contains a romantic poem by the Indian poet and playwright Wajid Ali Shah, which is illustrated with paintings based on photograph portraits of the women at the Lucknow court.