Reed

Arnold Böcklin prints open a door onto a dreamlike world of myth, sea and shadow. Böcklin was a Swiss Symbolist painter, best known for his haunting Isle of the Dead, which inspired composers, writers and later artists from de Chirico to the Surrealists. This collection gathers art prints of his mythological scenes, playful sea creatures, Italian landscapes, portraits and darker allegories of war and plague.

About Arnold Böcklin

Arnold Böcklin was born in Basel on 16 October 1827, the son of a silk merchant. He studied at the Düsseldorf Academy under Johann Wilhelm Schirmer, who sent him to Antwerp and Brussels to copy Flemish and Dutch masters, and he then worked at the Louvre in Paris. In 1850 he went to Rome, where the classical world brought mythological figures into his work. There, in 1853, he married Angela Pascucci; they had fourteen children, many of whom died young.

His mythological pictures of the late 1850s won him a professorship at the Weimar academy. He returned to Rome from 1862 to 1866, painted frescoes in Basel, and then lived in Munich, where he painted his Self-Portrait with Death Playing the Fiddle in 1872.

From 1876 to 1885 he worked in Florence, and from 1886 to 1892 in Zürich, before settling at San Domenico near Florence. He painted the five versions of Isle of the Dead between 1880 and 1886. Böcklin died at Fiesole on 16 January 1901 and is buried in the Allori cemetery in Florence.

Style and Subjects

Böcklin's paintings take the classical world and turn it into something strange and poetic. Nymphs, satyrs, centaurs, tritons and sea monsters play in the waves or lurk in shadowy groves, and calm Italian landscapes with cypresses and ruined temples carry a quiet sense of mortality.

He loved strong, sometimes violent color, and his work moves between playful, sunlit scenes and dark allegories of death, war and plague. His imagery overlaps with the Pre-Raphaelites, and his dreamlike mood later fascinated Giorgio de Chirico and the Surrealists.

Famous Works

• Self-Portrait with Death Playing the Fiddle (1872), Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin. The painter listens as a skeleton plays a violin over his shoulder.
• Sleeping Diana Watched by Two Fauns (1877), Museum Kunstpalast, Düsseldorf. The goddess asleep in a wooded glade.
• Odysseus and Calypso (1882), Kunstmuseum Basel. Odysseus gazes out to sea while the nymph Calypso waits.
• Isle of the Dead (1880–1886), Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin, and other museums. A boat carries a white-shrouded figure toward a rocky island of cypresses, painted in five versions.
• The Sanctuary of Hercules (1884). A mysterious shrine in a dark grove.
• Odysseus and Polyphemus (1896), Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Odysseus escapes the giant Cyclops by sea.
• The Plague (1898), Kunstmuseum Basel. Death rides a winged creature through a city street.

Decorating with Böcklin Prints

Böcklin's dreamy landscapes and Isle of the Dead suit a study, library or dark-walled living room, where their deep greens, blues and stony grays create a moody, contemplative feel. They look best in heavy dark or antique gilt frames.

His sunnier sea scenes, with nymphs and tritons playing in the surf, bring a lighter mood to a bathroom or bedroom, and his mythological pictures make a striking focal point in a hallway or above a fireplace.

FAQ

What art movement was Arnold Böcklin part of?

Böcklin was a Swiss Symbolist painter, influenced by Romanticism. He trained in the Düsseldorf school and spent much of his life in Italy.

What is Arnold Böcklin's most famous painting?

Isle of the Dead, which he painted in five versions between 1880 and 1886, is his best-known work. It partly recalls the English Cemetery in Florence, near his studio, where his baby daughter Maria was buried.

Where can I see Böcklin's original paintings?

The Kunstmuseum Basel has a major collection. Other important works are in the Alte Nationalgalerie in Berlin, the Museum der bildenden Künste in Leipzig, the Bavarian State Painting Collections in Munich and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

How can you recognize an Arnold Böcklin painting?

Look for mythological creatures in lush landscapes or rough seas, cypress trees and classical ruins, strong color and a dreamlike, sometimes eerie mood.

Who did Böcklin influence?

He influenced Hans Thoma in his lifetime, and later Giorgio de Chirico, who said each of Böcklin's works was a shock. Surrealists such as Max Ernst and Salvador Dalí admired him, and Isle of the Dead inspired several late Romantic composers.

Related Artists

• Anselm Feuerbach — friend from his Düsseldorf student years
• Hans Thoma — younger German painter whom Böcklin influenced
• Hans von Marées — German painter of classical dream worlds who also worked in Italy
• Max Klinger — German Symbolist who admired and drew on his work
• Franz von Stuck — Munich Symbolist of the next generation