by Auguste Charles Mengin

Date painted: 1877
Oil on canvas, 230.7 x 151.1 cm
Collection: Manchester City Galleries

My life is bitter with thy love; thine eyes
Blind me, thy tresses burn me, thy sharp sighs
Divide my flesh and spirit with soft sound,
And my blood strengthens, and my veins abound.
I pray thee sigh not, speak not, draw not breath;
Let life burn down, and dream it is not death.
— Swinburne