The Archer

“The Archer” has the characteristic tendency of symbolism to reflect expressions of the spiritual world, the idea of eternal beauty and the union of man and nature. The saturated blue colour, reflections in the clear, still water and the rejection of linear perspective create an idyll not tied to a specific time. The image of the naked youth can be seen as an element of this eternally beautiful and flowering nature. At the same time, unrest is hidden in this scene of an idyllic world. This is indicated by the long, dark shadows on the surface of the water, the dynamic and tense pose of the youth, the sharp outlines of his body and the colour contrasts. Interestingly, in the first variation of the composition (with the title of “In Arcadia”), the youth is aiming at a swan. In antique mythology and in the Finnish epic “Kalevala” this subject expresses in a symbolic way man’s pain over the loss of the golden age. Although in “The Archer” we can’t see the intended target of the arrow, we sense that the harmony in this paradise is about to be destroyed.