Raw materials and art – 22. Water and Renoir

2023-04-24 07:25:39

Switzerland is a hub for commodity trading. Did you know that this activity represents 4% of Swiss GDP, and even 22% of tax revenue for the canton of Geneva.

This week, we are talking regarding the theme of water. We will see that it is a raw material. We will ask ourselves the question: what is World Water Day? We will take as an example the tensions that exist between Egypt and Ethiopia over water.

This gives us the opportunity to admire the painting by Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) La Yole which is a painting made in 1875 and exhibited at the National Gallery in London.

Water is a raw material

The raw materials are divided into 5 groups according to their origin:

We can see that blue gold is one of the most used raw materials and is part of our daily life:

  1. of plant origin: cotton, wood, flax, cellulose, latex, cereals, fruits and vegetables, seeds, wheat, etc.
  2. of animal origin: fur, wool, leather, silk, milk, meat, etc.
  3. of mineral origin: iron, gold, copper, silicon, silver, minerals, etc.
  4. of liquid or gaseous origin: water, hydrogen, oxygen, air, nitrogen, etc.
  5. of fossil origin: natural gas, oil, diamonds, precious stones, etc.

world water day

Since 1993, World Water Day has been celebrated every year on March 22, to raise awareness of the importance and the need for access for all. Indeed, water is a right and not a privilege. This right is also enshrined in one of the Sustainable Development Goals to be achieved by 2030.

Water is a major problem with episodes of drought multiplying all over the world.

In 2022, there were cases of water-related deaths in Lebanon. Due to failing infrastructure, polluted water has favored the return of cholera.

The number of death cases has decreased significantly in Lebanon since the beginning of the year.

Major tensions over water: The Egypt-Ethiopia example

Geopolitically, dams can generate major tensions between countries that share the same river. Take the example of the Nile.

Since 1959, Egypt has had a right of veto on all works that might modify the flow of the Nile. Ethiopia, for its part, has built the so-called Renaissance dam to regain control over the flow of the river.

The Egyptian government threatens to resort to arms if its water supply is no longer guaranteed.

Renoir’s Yole

In his test, Bourgeois leisure on the Seine : Impressionnismauthor Tricia Cussack describes the atmosphere of the scene.

In the same series, “Raw materials and art”:

  1. Cereals and Van Gogh
  2. Coffee and culture
  3. Cotton and Edgar Degas
  4. Cocoa and Luis Meléndez
  5. Sugar and Sartre
  6. Copper and Chardin
  7. Steel and Gayle Hermick
  8. Corn and Jean Mortel
  9. Biogas and Victor Hugo
  10. Hydrogen and the aerostatic globe
  11. The wind, Da Vinci and Monnet
  12. The Sun and Firedrich
  13. L’or et Klimt
  14. Barley and antiquity
  15. Le soja et Seikei Zusetsu
  16. L’aluminium et Jule Verne
  17. Le riz and Morimura Gitō
  18. Money and the Elblag Museum
  19. Tin and Jean Trek
  20. Oats and Géricault
  21. Milk and Vermeer

Sources :

Raw material: definition and explanations – AquaPortail

SDG6 – Guarantee access to water and sanitation for all and ensure sustainable management of water resources – The 2030 Agenda in France (agenda-2030.fr)

Significant drop in the number of cholera cases in Lebanon | UN News

Water, the issue of war and peace of the 21st century – Le Temps

Renoir, La Yole – ColourLex

Photo credit : Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

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