Rodin carved three copies of The Kiss; the second causing outrage when it was shown in Lewes, East Sussex, in 1914. Last year it was displayed in a suitably romantic setting at the Turner Contemporary gallery in Margate
Photograph: De Agostini/Getty Images
Doisneau's most familiar photo – signifying the romance of Paris. The identity of the lovers remained a mystery until a couple who mistakenly believed it was them sought royalties in the 1990s. Doisneau then revealed the scene had been posed by Françoise Bornet, a former actor, and her then boyfriend, Jacques Carteaud Photograph: Robert Doisneau/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
This tender portrait gained its misleading name in the 19th century. The subjects remain a mystery, but are widely believed to represent the Old Testament figures Isaac and Rebecca Photograph: Courtesy of Rijksmuseum
The most famous work by an artist noted for his eroticism was part of his 'golden phase', which also produced Pallas Athene (1898) and Judith I (1901), and was immediately popular Photograph: Universal History Archive/Getty Images
Two wealthy, educated members of the 17th-century Dutch elite recline at ease in this 'sexy, comic, unruly masterpiece' Photograph: Frans Pegt/Image courtesy of the Rijksmuseum
Cupid embraces Psyche in this sculpture depicting a scene from Lucius Apuleius's 2nd-century Latin novel The Golden Ass Photograph: G Dagli Orti/De Agostini/Getty Images
Youthful romance, childhood and old age in Titian's representation of the lifecycle Photograph: Edinburgh, Scottish National Gallery (Bridgewater Loan, 1945)
Surely this heavily pregnant woman has just received a love letter? Photograph: Image courtesy of Rijksmuseum
This painting (on a bed) breathes sex. The pillow is scrawled with marks that refer to Rauschenberg's fellow artist and lover, Cy Twombly Photograph: Scala
