CHENNAI: Long before the dissection of water by science, ancient civilisations have always graphically depicted water in their art. The ancient Egyptians considered water as part of their rituals and water being poured from a pitcher was a common motif. Water was deeply admired by these early artists and most mythologies mention water.
Later, in the medieval period, when art found its patrons in religion, water became sacred in its representation. It became a symbol of cleansing and purification. The artworks based on the baptism of Christ were one of the most commonly painted themes in art during this period.
WATER AS A METAPHOR
In the late 14th and early 15th century, the ability of water to reflect a mirror image started being used symbolically in art. Narcissus, a painting by Italian artist Caravaggio from 1599, is one of the finest examples. According to Greco-Roman mythology, Narcissus, a handsome youth, fell in love with his reflection in the water, and died by the pool, shattered by his longing for something he could never have. When Caravaggio painted the lad yearningly gazing at his own reflection, water took on the form of excessive self-love, far from the earlier sacred representations.
When surrealist painter Salvador Dali painted Swans Reflecting Elephants in 1937 however, he used these reflections in a lake to create double images. The three swans in the painting, along with the bare trees in the background, turn into elephants in their reflections, with the latter becoming symbols of the powerful language of dreams and a visual metaphor for the subconscious.
A TRANQUIL BODY OF WATER
In the early 19th century, water started becoming a part of a landscape, either turning into a relaxed outdoor setting or becoming the subject by itself. Serene bodies of water like lakes and ponds that transmitted the viewer into a state of calm became the central subject often. French artist Claude Monet was so enamoured by this static form of water that he made it his muse in the last 30 years of his life. Water Lilies, his series of around 250 paintings, featured the ponds in his garden.
STORMY WATERS
The early 19th century also saw many artists tackling water in its most violent form- the fury of the storm. The turbulent waters of the sea fascinated many artists of the time as marine trade was at its peak and shipwrecks caused by brutal tempests were regular occurrences. JMW Turner, an English painter, was renowned for such marine paintings.
A SPLASH OF WATER
Once urban societies came into being, this turbulence shifted to the backyards of society. Between 1964 and 1971, British artist David Hockney was so fascinated by the swimming pools that he noticed in most American homes on his visit to California in 1963, that he embarked on a series of paintings of these pools. In his painting A Bigger Splash, Hockney painted a large swimming pool, seemingly quiet and still except for the singular movement of a splash. Although at one glance, the painting presented a vision of the easygoing luxurious lifestyles of the rich, the reality of the times when it was painted was far different. It was a period in American history when racial segregation extended even to public pools and the civil rights movement was gaining ground. The painting was symbolic of all the unrest waiting to erupt beneath the calm waters of society.
WATER IN A CRISIS
In contemporary times, with the climate change crisis frantically knocking on our doors, water has become a survival issue. Artists today no longer have the luxury to portray its divine connotations, to sit back and admire its pristine beauty or give it the cloak of philosophy. Our waters are muddy and polluted. Parched lands cry out for help in all corners of the universe. The urgency to act is what present day artists address through their art.
Delhi based artist Ravi Agarwal’s focus is on water and most of his works highlight how the growth of urban cities has affected our nation’s rivers and how water, which is the source of all life, is slowly turning into the carrier of diseases and death.
“Water is life’s matter and matrix, mother and medium. There is no life without water.”