Narcissus Painting

Everyone is acquainted with the story of Narcissus. A baby, who was born from the union of a god and a nymph, fated to die if he ever saw his own reflection, grows up to become a most beautiful young man. His beauty had such enchantment that mortals as well as immortals were drawn to him like a moth to a flame. He was the object of desire for many men and women but Narcissus never reciprocated. He vexed all his lovelorn suitors with disdain born out of his vanity. Echo was a nymph who fell in love with Narcissus and was thwarted in her advances. She faded away to merely an echo repeating the last words of all strangers but unable to voice any words of her own. Ameinias was a young strapping man who proposed to Narcissus and got rejected. As a consolation, Narcissus presented a sword to Ameinias which the latter used to commit suicide, appealing to the gods to teach Narcissus a lesson for such insolence. So, one day Nemesis drew Narcissus towards a dark pool of willing him to drink from it. As he bent down to drink from the pool, he saw his reflection in the depths of the water and as fate had already ordained, Narcissus fell deeply in love with his twin in the water. His love sick self failed to understand why his reflection did not love him back. He pined away lamenting his unrequited love and in the end drowned himself in the pool. The gods took pity on him and created a flower, white and gold and named it after him. So, the story goes. Though the story of Narcissus is the main inspiration for this piece of art, I have used my own interpretation and exploration of the theme using colour, form and lines. This piece of art takes a deeper look at the myth and tries to meander through the layers of implication, philosophical, psychological and social, which this story offers. I have used watercolours, pen and ink on acid free textured paper to bring this work of art to life.