“Oh, there must be a little bit of air, a little bit of happiness, but chiefly to let the form be felt, to make the lines of the silhouette speak. But let the whole be sombre.”

Chance doesn’t deal happiness with an even hand — some lives are more weighed down by sorrow than others. It can be easy, and misguided, to romanticize suffering ...........Read more 

John Keats (1795 - 1821) English Romantic poet and one of the main figures of the second generation of Romantic poets. He published only fifty-four poems during his short life.

Alexandre Dumas-fils (1824-1895) French author and playwright, best known for the romantic novel La Dame aux Camélias (The Lady of the Camellias), adapted into Giuseppe Verdi's opera La Traviata (The fallen woman).

Pablo Casals (1876 - 1973) Cellist, composer, and conductor from Catalonia. Generally regarded as one of the greatest cellists of all time. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1963.