Narcissus at the Source by Caravaggio

The Roman poet Ovid told the captivating story of Narcissus, the boy that was cursed to fall in love with his own reflection, and waste away at the water's edge. While being a poem commenting vanity, artists of the renaissance and baroque were fascinated by the story, and drew parallels between the reflective water and artworks on the canvas. Caravaggio, with his genius for capturing the human condition both physically and emotionally, brings Ovid's story to life in the most brilliant way. Narcissus gazes upon his reflection not only with a vain fascination, but with a completely devastating fixation. The total darkness surrounding the scene strengthens the feeling of there being nothing else in the world but this boy and his reflection.