How the Dew Formed

1989-1990, tempera, watercolour on paper, 27,4x19,5 cm /// Kārlis Dobrājs (1943) is one of the classics of Latvian painting. The series of drawings was commissioned for the book “Vēja Vanadziņš” (“Windy Accipiter”, 1993). It compiles a selection of artistic representations of Latvian legends and tales, with a visually depicted narrative of the stories themselves. The coloured hand-drawn illustrations are original works, with each being a one-of-a-kind piece. As in many Latvian folktales, God, symbolizing the good and the right, goes to people to give them a lesson. People who ate breakfast with dirty mouths said that there was no water to wash the mouths with. That is why God created the dew, to wash the mouth with it every morning.