Vrouw en meisje in roeiboot 1878

Armand Charnay captured this image of a woman and a girl in a rowboat in a print. Notice how the water is the most prominent element of this landscape. Water is one of the primordial symbols of life, change, and the subconscious. It’s no coincidence that in mythology, water is the source of creation, a space of regeneration. Think of Botticelli’s Venus emerging from the sea, or even Ophelia’s tragic submersion, each conveying powerful emotions tied to the depths of our psyche. From baptismal rites to the myth of the river Styx, water's symbolic presence has been a constant throughout history, and continues to engage with our collective memories and stir subconscious associations.