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From Song—, by Zacharias Stellas

“I am in the fever of love. His left hand beneath my head, his right arm holding me close” (Song of Songs 2:6). The embracing couple merge into one in the vivid illustration to this passage in Greek artist Zacharias Stellas’s 1983 illuminated Song of Songs.

The woman of the poem repeatedly expresses her ardent desire to remain in her lover’s arms. The man speaks more of his love’s appearance, comparing her features to natural wonders. “How beautiful you are, my love, my friend! The doves of your eyes looking out from the thicket of your hair” (Song of Songs 4:1).