Arnold Böcklin (1827-1901). Böcklin’s art had little in common with Impressionism or the academic art of his time. Instead, his depictions of demigods in naturalistic settings interpret themes from Classical mythology in an idiosyncratic, often sensual manner. In the Sea, part of a series of paintings of mythological subjects, displays an unsettling, earthy realism. Mermaids and tritons frolic in the water with a lusty energy and abandon verging on coarseness. Occupying the centre of the composition is a harp playing triton. Three mermaids have attached themselves to his huge frame as if it were a raft; the one near his shoulder seems to thrust herself upon him. The work’s sense of boisterousness is tempered by the ominously shaped reflection of the triton and mermaids in the sea and by the oddness of the large-eared heads that emerge from the water at the right. In addition to imaginative, bizarre interpretations of the Classical world, Böcklin painted mysterious landscapes punctuated by an occasional lone figure. These haunting later works made him an important contributor to the international Symbolist movement. They also appealed to some Surrealist artists, particularly Giorgio de Chirico, who declared, “Each of (Böcklin’s) works is a shock. Art Institute of Chicago, IL
Part 1 of a 3-part series on the works of Arnold Böcklin:
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| Self Portrait 1873 oil on canvas 61 x 48.9 cm Hamburger Kunsthalle, Germany |
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| c1846 Country Road at the Edge of a Forest etching 8 x 11.5 cm |
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| 1846 Two Little Girls Picking Berries on a Hillside etching 8 x 11.4 cm (plate) |
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| 1846 Portrait of Alexander Micheli oil on cardboard 33 x 31.1 cm Kunstmuseum Basel |
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| 1846 Portrait of Alexander Micheli oil on canvas 55.5 x 46 cm Kunstmuseum Basel |
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| 1845 Reed oil on canvas, mounted on cardboard 14.8 x 26 cm Kunstmuseum Basel |
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| 1847 The Megalithic Tomb oil on canvas 60.2 x 77.5 cm Kunstmuseum Basel |
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| 1847 Mountain Lake with Seagulls oil on canvas 45.6 x 64.7 cm Kunstmuseum Basel |
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| 1848 Portrait of Jakob Mähly as a Student oil on canvas 32.6 x 24.4 cm Kunstmuseum Basel |
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| c1849 Rocky Slope with Weather Pines oil on canvas 39.1 x 54.4 cm Kunstmuseum Basel |
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| c1849 Mountain Landscape with Waterfall oil on canvas 32.8 x 40.8 cm Kunstmuseum Basel |
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| c1849 High Mountain Landscape with Chamois oil on canvas 32.5 x 41 cm Kunstmuseum Basel |
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| 1849 Weather Pines oil on canvas 76.8 x 74.6 cm Kunstmuseum Basel |
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| 1849 Portrait of Wilhelmine Wiggenhauser (widowed Lippe-Rumpf), Aunt of the Artist oil on canvas 35.5 x 27.5 cm Kunstmuseum Basel |
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| 1849 Portrait of Louisa Schmid oil on canvas 46 x 38 cm Kunstmuseum Basel |
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| 1849 Landscape at Sunset oil on canvas 21.4 x 27.1 cm Kunstmuseum Basel |
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| c1850-55 A Cliff Face oil on paper laid on canvas 23.1 x 32 cm The National Gallery, London |
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| 1852 Roman Landscape oil on canvas 74.5 x 72.4 cm Brooklyn Museum, New York |
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| 1853 On the edge of the Forest oil on canvas 68 x 95 cm Kunstmuseum Basel |
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| 1853 Landscape near Palestrina oil on canvas 16 x 24.4 cm Kunstmuseum Basel |
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| c1855 Nymph at the Spring oil on canvas 129.6 x 112.8 cm Bavarian State Painting Collections, Munich |
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| c1855 Forest Landscape with resting Pan oil on canvas 89.8 x 75.2 cm Kunstmuseum Basel |
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| 1858 Pan in the Reeds oil on canvas 199.7 x 152.7 cm Bavarian State Painting Collections, Munich |
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| 1859 Pan frightens a Shepherd (Panic Terror) oil on canvas 78 x 63.8 cm Kunstmuseum Basel |
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| c1860 The Abandoned Venus oil on canvas 120 x 95 cm Kunstmuseum Basel |
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| c1860 Pan Frightens a Shepherd oil on canvas 134.5 x 110.2 cm Bavarian State Painting Collections, Munich |
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| c1860-62 Bagpipers oil on canvas 49.6 x 73.7 cm Bavarian State Painting Collections, Munich |
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| 1862 Spring (Sketch) oil on canvas 33.4 x 56.9 cm Kunstmuseum Basel |
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| 1862 Sappho wax paint on canvas 56.5 x 45.5 cm Kunstmuseum Basel |
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| 1862 Sappho oil on canvas 94.9 x 73.7 cm Philadelphia Art Musem, PA |
