Both earth and humans are made up of 70 percent water. It keeps everything flowing: all is in flux. What does it mean to us? The exhibition at the Arp Museum shows a history of water with c. 50 masterpieces from 1600 to the present day.

Creative energy, pure beauty, or destructive elemental force, water has always determined life and art. Right up to the Romantic period, the sublimity of the element has been the focus of painting. Its positive power is shown, for example, in the baptism of Jesus, while storms and floods depict its threatening side. In the colorful still lifes and idyllic river landscapes of the Baroque period, on the other hand, pure pleasure reigns. With the bathing culture of the late 18th century, relaxed beach life became increasingly important in painting.

Impressionist painters such as Eugène Louis Boudin, Claude Monet and Paul Signac captured the beauty of light-flooded clouds, foamy waves, and fleeting reflections of the water. The contemporary photographer Elger Esser consciously draws inspiration from the places and landscapes of the Impressionists.

The special location of the museum on the Rhine and its proximity to the River Ahr also highlight the relationship between man and nature, which is worth protecting.