When I went to Paris . . . no, let me start again. I was on my way home from Paris. I had the worst day of my life — I was trying to catch a plane home to the States and I was late for it. I cried a lot, had much stress, and waged eternal war against my luggage.

On that day, I lost a few posters I was carrying. I found one of them online — it’s only sold in the Louvre, which is where I bought it. And the airport is where I left it, probably on top of the pay phone where I called my dad collect to say I’d be late getting home and, “Good Lord, do I hate Paris.”

It’s by Émile Friant and is called “The Lovers.” It’s one of those paintings where you look at it and you say, “That fits my taste so perfectly, I must have it.” See how your eye is drawn to the woman’s face? Most of her face is hidden from view, but you can tell she is beautiful. And interesting. It’s in the way she tilts her head and rests her cheek on her hands. It’s in the way she listens.

I was so sad when I realized I’d left it behind, but mostly I was glad to be out of Paris and on my way home. It had been a stressful morning.

I also saw something that I would have bought if I had the money. It was about €65, but it was so beautiful. Okay, so you know Botticelli’s “Venus and the Graces offering gifts to a young girl,” which is a fresco and is also in the Louvre. (If you don’t know it, just nod and pretend you do.) Well, it’s a very large fresco, about as tall as I am, and they usually sell prints of the undamaged part on the left, where the two women are walking arm-in-arm. I bought a small print of it, about 9×12, that hangs over the perfume bottles on my dresser. Very classy. Anyway, the one that I fell in love with was larger — it showed more of their bodies (like the image to the left here) and it was about three feet tall and two wide. And it was, essentially, a reproduction of this section of the fresco, with cracks and texture and everything. It made my knees go weak and my jaw hurt for wanting it. But I’m a frugal creature, and I settled for the smaller, cheaper version. Still, part of me wants the bigger one, the realistic one, the one that looks like they just cut it off of the wall. And I think that if Alex and I ever visit France again, we’ll go and pick one up.

(I really like close ups of Botticelli faces. The bodies are always kind of too sinuous, but the faces are flawless.)

Have you ever noticed that Rossetti’s women look like drag queens? I mean, seriously, look at this guy. Have you ever seen a more manly face? I think Rossetti is trying to tell us something.

That’s why I like Waterhouse and Botticelli. Their women are some of the most womanly women I’ve ever seen. They’re feminine. And Waterhouse gives his women some real character. Like his Ophelia in the grass. I have a print of that and it’s become my favorite of his works — it just has so much depth and interest. But it’s very hard to find on any site that offers prints of Waterhouse’s work.

Apparently, they’re selling some reproductions on Ebay for a nice chunk of money. It would be worth it to have a nice one. It’s one of those paintings that gets nicer the more you look at it.