Hardly any other topic influences our lives more fundamentally and dramatically than WATER. The theme year proclaimed by the Braunschweigische Landschaft under the motto "Water connects a region" brings this realization to the fore. An occasion for the Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum to dedicate two consecutive exhibitions to the Element of Life. From November 29, 2024 to March 16, 2025, visitors will encounter the "Realities of Water" in the "Art on Paper" room.
A VIEW OF WATER
The infinitely changeable nature of water - from rain showers to surging seas - has always fascinated artists. This is evidenced by master drawings and prints from Rembrandt to Ludwig Richter, from Canaletto to Jean Dubuffet, from Ernst Ludwig Kirchner to Serena Ferrario. Complemented by works of painting, applied art and sound art, which also makes water audible.
RESOURCE OF LIFE
Art reflects a variety of perspectives on life in and with water: admiration for the mysterious world of aquatic life and the depiction of human use of the resource. Fishing, water mills, canals in Venice and Amsterdam are just as worthy of depiction as the relaxed enjoyment of water in a bath or the sight of magnificent fountains.
BETWEEN THE EXTREMES
Images of floods and submersion conjure up the threatening and destructive power of water. Water appears sublime and eerie in images of icy glaciers, which are now disappearing ever more rapidly. The simultaneously worsening lack of water, on the other hand, is addressed by the illustrator Nadine Fecht in a group of works created under extreme conditions with the programmatic title "alerts - Warnings".