Ninfee #1 (2004) by Luca RentoLa Galleria Nazionale
Waterfall
Considering both its symbolic value, in philosophical and mythological terms, and its material consistency, water is a natural element whose presence is very recurring in the history of art.
Ruderi di un mondo che fu (1890 ca.) by Federico CorteseLa Galleria Nazionale
The first artists immediately looked at its creative force with amazement and admiration: from rock paintings, witnesses of the primordial cult, from the iconography of ancient Egypt to Greek mythology which depicts the birth of the powerful Venus from the foam of the sea.
Mentre il colore solleva la pietra, la pietra solleva il colore (1988/2019) by Giovanni AnselmoLa Galleria Nazionale
Starting from the Late Ancient age, water becomes a sacred element, a symbol of purification, through the baptismal rite (the baptism of Christ is one of the most treated themes in the history of medieval art).
J'ai jeté 4 dessins dans le torrent Chisone (Turin) destination mer: Act raisonnable, ennuyeux, autocritique (1969) by Pane GinaLa Galleria Nazionale
Since the Renaissance, water has continued to inspire artists, as evidenced by the famous painting Narcissus, in which Caravaggio investigates the mirroring matrix of the element and depicts the body of water in which the figure of the protagonist is reproduced.
La Vague (1871) by Gustave CourbetLa Galleria Nazionale
In the modern age, the characteristics of fluidity and elusiveness of the element become the principle of challenge by artists who engage in the representation of reality, as in the paintings by Gustave Courbet in which the artist represents the encounter between sky and sea.
Venere (1844) by Luigi BienaiméLa Galleria Nazionale
The theme of water becomes predominant in the work of the Impressionists, attracted in particular by the transparency and the play of light created by the reflection of colours.
Ninfee rosa (1897 - 1899) by Claude MonetLa Galleria Nazionale
But the most representative series is certainly that of the Water Lilies, where the body of water is the basic presence that creates transformation through the reflection of colors that gives life and movement to the works.
Mappa (1971/1973) by Alighiero BoettiLa Galleria Nazionale
The element of water, essential in the life cycle, has fascinated artists becoming the protagonist of many. Passing through currents such as Cubism and Surrealism and through techniques such as photography and video, always remaining one of the privileged subjects.
32 mq di mare circa (1967) by Pino PascaliLa Galleria Nazionale
As in the work of Pino Pascali, 32 square meters of sea (1967) - in which the artist fills thirty galvanized aluminum tanks with two thousand four hundred liters of colored water - or in environmental works or even in video art.
The gift (1990) by Joseph KosuthLa Galleria Nazionale
The evolution of the theme of water in art continues today through the involvement of the element investigated mostly as a resource and tool for reflection on political and ecological issues related to the environment.
Written by Giulia Lotti. Photo by Google and Adriano Mura
