Element of Life

Few things shape human life more fundamentally and dramatically than WATER. 

By proclaiming its first ever theme year “Water Connects a Region”, the Braunschweigische Landschaft has brought this realization to the fore. The Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum has taken up the call by dedicating two successive and closely related exhibitions to the “Element of Life”.

WATER STORYTELLING

Masterpieces from Dürer to the present day, from woodcuts to watercolors, paintings to decorative art, allow us to take the plunge and immerse ourselves in the myths and legends that have swirled around water through the ages. Inviting visitors to join in a game of fluid association, the exhibition becomes an illustrated journey into the origins of our ambivalent relationship with the life-giving element.

OF MIRACLES AND DISASTERS

The myths surrounding water, whether from the Bible, classical mythology, or the artistic imagination, are ubiquitous in art. Masters such as Raphael and Rembrandt, Picasso and Altenbourg all take their turn in illustrating watery Creation, floods, scenes of frivolity and deadly battle between gods and sea monsters, as well as presenting water as the harbinger of salvation and destruction.

TRANSFORMATION, DOOM, STOLEN GLANCES

The Pharaoh’s army is washed away by water, as is the boatman beguiled by Lorelei. Meanwhile, the still surface of a pool of water becomes a magical mirror for Narcissus, who falls in love with his reflection while slaking his thirst. Rubens, Manet, and video artist Gary Hill demonstrate the ambiguous role that water can play as female bathers – biblical, mythological, or real-life – are exposed to indiscreet gazes.

The exhibition “Element of Life. Vol. 2: Realities of Water” opens on November 29, 2024.