Gezicht op de haven van Trani vanaf het water 1778

Louis Ducros rendered this view of the port of Trani from the water in pen and watercolor. The boats here, symbols of transit and trade, carry echoes of the ancient ship as a vessel for souls across the waters of life and death. Notice how the masts, sharply vertical, recur throughout history as signifiers of reaching towards the divine. Consider the obelisks of Egypt, or the spires of Gothic cathedrals, all striving upwards, connecting earth and sky. The journey by water, common through diverse cultures, reappears in mythologies worldwide, from the River Styx of the Greeks to the voyages of Celtic heroes. In our collective unconscious, water signifies both peril and purification. The artist taps into this archetypal imagery, engaging our deepest fears and hopes.