Landscape with a tributary of the Seine, near Paris 1872

Pericles Pantazis captured this landscape near the Seine with oil on canvas. The body of water, or river, symbolizes time and the constant flux of existence. Here, the water flows calmly; it mirrors not just the sky but also our own subconscious. The symbolism of water is ancient and universal. Consider the Greek myth of Lethe, the river of forgetfulness in Hades, where souls drink to forget their past lives. Similarly, water is used for baptism, a symbolic cleansing and rebirth. The marshy foreground with tall grasses evokes a sense of the primordial, a place of hidden potential. Like our own memories, the landscape blurs, not everything is clear; Pantazis captures the transience of life itself. The natural world becomes a mirror reflecting human emotions and experiences.