Elements
The elements that make up this painting are the room and the lovers. The way the room is painted makes it seem almost insignificant. The bold colors are shadowed and there are no windows to give perspective. However it is unusual to see a room with such a variety of colored walls. The lovers are the primary object and the one that adds the most mystery and intrigue. The way they are both positioned is suggestive. The man is in a dominant position with his shoulders angled. The woman appears to be tilting her hear up towards him but after looking at the position of her body as well it appears more like she is leaning backwards. The most significant aspect of the lovers is the veils. It is actually a rather bland painting however by simply covering the faces with veils it becomes far more interesting and thought provoking. The psychological impact however is far greater with all of these elements. The color blue is associated with calm or water which is associated with life. The color red is associated with anger, lust and love while white is associated with purity which also happens to be the least shown. Black is commonly associated with death which the man may be representative of. The woman is dressed in red which may mean love or passion. The veils are of a whitish or grayish color and depending upon how you see it could mean purity or could mean the purity is fading or tainted. Trying to put all of these elements together to form a single meaning is rather difficult. It is the culmination of elements that are supposed to impact the viewer.
By taking the psychological physical aspects of the painting I can derive the meaning that death and love are always connected but will always be separated by a veil of innocence. Yet since the man in the painting is in a dominant position and the woman leaning back another interpretation might be love succumbs to death and the veils allow for the viewer to attribute any face to the figures. Another aspect of the painting that may contribute to its meaning could stem from the positions of the figures and the colors of the walls. The man represents death and stands next to the red wall representing love and in front of the blue wall representing water or life. The woman represents love and stands in front of the wall representing the water or life as well. From this I can see a meaning of life, love and death are always connected.