Illuminated Manuscript digitally painted by Capio Lumen. This painting is available as a limited edition pigmented ink jet print. Each print is numbered, dated and signed by the artist. This Giclée print, French for inkjet, is printed using Epson archival pigmented inks on fine art paper. The print is “light fast” for 100 years when kept under glass and out of direct sunlight. It is available in these four print sizes.
6.5 X 8.5 Unmated: Numbered Edition of 150: Print size 5.5 X 7.0: ($20.00)
11 X 14 Matted: Numbered Edition of 300: Print size 6.75 X 8.5: ($50.00)
16 X 19 Framed: Numbered Edition of 300: Print size 6.25 X 8.0: ($100.00)
24 X 30 Unmated: Numbered Edition of 50: Print size of 21 X 27: ($300.00
- A.P. Artist Proof is 10% of the edition size
“Rivers” A Sanskrit Epigrammatic Poem ©2022
“Rivers” A Sanskrit Epigrammatic Poem
Rivers do not drink their own water.
Trees do not eat their own fruit.
The sun does not shine on itself.
Flowers do not spread their fragrance for themselves.
Living for others is a rule of nature.
We are all born to help each other.
No matter how difficult it is.
Life is good when you are happy,
But much better when others are happy because of you.
About this painting
In late 2021 and early into 2022 I started noticing this “Rivers” stanza being posted on social media sites with an attribution to Pope Francis the 266th Bishop of Rome. For the previous five years, citizens of the United States of America, and various other countries, had become deeply partisan and polarized. When I came across the “Rivers” verse it struck a chord with my personal beliefs that we all should be trying to be helpful to each other for the good of the whole.
I spent sizeable amount of time working on this image, researching source images, working on the layout and painting. I had painted the cap “R’, the landscape within the cap “R”, figures, and foreground animals, when I discovered that the original source of this poem may not have been from Pope Francis as I was originally led to believe.
I was unsuccessful in my research trying to authenticate the verse to writings of Pope Francis. I did find however, that this verse is a variation on a Sanskrit epigrammatic poem. A Subhashish is a literary genre of Sanskrit epigrammatic poems. Think of them as short concise and sometimes pithy poems. Their message is generally a saying, proverb, advice, fact, truth, lesson, or riddle. It is believed that this “Rivers” Sanskrit Subhashish is from the 14th-century. The original verse went something like this "Rivers do not drink their water; the trees do not eat their own fruits, the cloud never eats crops, indeed the lives of the virtuous are for the welfare of others." There has been many variations and adaptations over the centuries.
Symbolism in this Painting
A brief explanation of the symbolism in this painting:
Within border art on both the left and right sides we find a highly stylized acanthus vine. Entwined with the acanthus vine are three-colored petals Violas. Blue five--petalled forget-me-nots flowers have carried a symbolic meaning of remembrance, true and eternal love, and devotion. Pea flowers seen in the middle left and lower right of the painting represent unity. They are also associated with good-bye, departure, and thank you. Dianthus flowers, seen in the upper left top and center, are also known as Pinks. They are a member of the carnation family and are sometimes referred to as the “divine flower”. Pinks are used to symbolize love, affection, gratitude, and admiration. Pinks come in a wide range of colors from pink to red, to deep burgundy. Butterflies with open wings encircle the design following the star map which can be seen in the background behind all the other elements. The butterfly is a symbol for the cycles of life; caterpillar, chrysalis and finally, the butterfly. The Bee and Ants that are scattered throughout the composition are used because of their industrious habits, as symbols of activity, diligence, work and good order.
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