METAMORPHOSIS OF NARCISSUS // 1937 // OIL ON CANVAS // 51.2 X 78.1 CM // TATE MODERN, LONDON
ACCORDING TO GREEK MYTHOLOGY, NARCISSUS FELL IN LOVE WITH HIS OWN REFLECTION IN WATER. UNABLE TO EMBRACE THE REFLECTION, HE FADED AWAY, IMMORTALIZED AS A FLOWER BY THE GODS. THE PAINTING SHOWS NARCISSUS SITTING IN A POND, GAZING DOWN. NOT FAR FROM HIS IS A STONE FIGURE WHICH LOOKS LIKE HIM BUT RESEMBLES A HAND HOLDING AN EGG OR A BULB, FROM WHICH HE IS GROWING AS A FLOWER. THE EGG HAS BEEN USED AS A SYMBOL OF SEXUALITY IN OTHER OF HIS PAINTINGS.