In the Flow: A Story about Water

From Baroque still lifes of marine flora and fauna to early landscape painting and Impressionism, artistic interpretations of water have constantly mutated. Whether evoking images of life-giving beauty or primal violence, our perception of water and its representation has fluctuated over time. Artistic confrontations with the subject reflect both our changing perspective on landscape and humanity's relationship with nature. The special location of the Arp Museum on the banks of the Rhine and in the immediate vicinity of the Ahr wine region adds a temporal dimension to these paintings, which span four centuries. Their interpretive horizons have been shifted by the perceptible effects of climate change to include depictions of natural disasters.

Within the Rau Collection for UNICEF, 19th century French art is of exceptional importance. Outstanding artists such as Eugène Louis Boudin, Claude Monet and Paul Signac drew inspiration and expressive power from the aquatic realm.