One of my favorite contemporary artists is Fatima Ronquillo. Originally from the Philippines, she now resides in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Fatima paints stunningly beautiful figures in a fine, old European classical style.
I love how refined the paintings are, but with a folk like quality, and almost always with a little quirk or twist.
They are clearly symbolic, evoking the solid feeling that there is more than meets the eye when looking at them.
I always want to know the story behind the painting.
So, as I began to study these paintings, I spied a common feature in some of the works.
The brooch with an eye on some of the articles of clothing caught my attention and of course I had to figure out what it meant.
The brooch with an eye on some of the articles of clothing caught my attention and of course I had to figure out what it meant.
And so, I began to research antique "Lover's Eyes".
As the name implies, the eye on the piece of jewelry was that of a loved one - perhaps a lover, or a deceased loved one, as a form of mourning jewelry.
One person told me they were a way of carrying a partial photo of a secret lover, "secret" implying they would not want to carry the entire photo for fear of exposure.
Others told me they might be for a husband, wife or another loved one, as a sentimental reminder of that person while away.
Like the soldier - is his love secret, or missed, as he is away from home?
Like the soldier - is his love secret, or missed, as he is away from home?
Whatever they were meant to be, they are romantic, bizarre, and in my opinion, quite wonderful!
The eye might be a photograph, or portion of one, or hand painted. They can be found on rings, pendants or brooches.
Here is a wonderful assortment of antique Lover's Eye pieces found on The Ornamentalist, a really interesting blog written by artist and decorative painter, Lynn Rutter.
For more history and detail about Lover's Eyes,
visit her blog post, "Eye Candy".
visit her blog post, "Eye Candy".
Betsy Youngquist is a contemporary artist who creates magnificent, detailed mosaic jewelry and decorative objects.
I found these eye pendants on her Etsy site. Aren't they strangely beautiful!
When my daughter and I were in San Francisco in March, we discovered the most wonderful, small jewelry shop, Jeanine Payer.
The exquisitely designed little shop, tiny, but filled with handmade jewelry, each piece engraved with poetry, captured our hearts for a good part of an afternoon.
The pieces we saw were subtle and dear - nothing flashy here, but oh what beauty.
So, as I perused the lovely cases of jewelry, my eye landed on the necklace below.
I couldn't believe it!
I had just recently become fascinated with Lover's Eyes, and what a happy coincidence it was to stumble upon this contemporary little gem!
I asked the shop keeper to show me the necklace and to tell me about it, not knowing for sure if it was meant to be a lover's eye.
When she said "Well, are you familiar with antique lover's eyes pendants?" I was thrilled!
My immediate reply was "Oh I was hoping you would ask me that!"
and then explained to her that I had just recently become enthralled with the whole concept.
Created in both silver and gold, the silver one came home with me. It is attached to a lovely silver chain, too, as seen above.
On the back is engraved:
Once you have flown, you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward; for there you have been, there you long to return.
- Leonardo da Vinci
- Leonardo da Vinci
I loved the gold one with the different toned eye, but the price difference was considerable, so the silver is just fine for me.
Now I will be on the hunt for the antique brooches, pendants or rings, although I understand they are rare and very expensive.
If I find one though, you will be the first to know!
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