Arnold Böcklin

Arnold Böcklin was arguably the most important Swiss painter of the 19th century and a towering figure of the Symbolist movement. Although his influence was greatest in northern Europe, his inspiration came from Italy. His seven-year stay in Rome during the 1850s led to his embrace of mythological subject matter – nymphs, satyrs and other strange creatures would come to populate his fantasy Italianate landscapes. Pan in the Reeds (1857) won him patronage from the King of Bavaria. Over the decades, Böcklin’s paintings grew increasingly melancholy, resulting in his most famous work, The Island of the Dead (1880). His mysterious and macabre imagery influenced Giorgio de Chirico, as well as surrealists like Max Ernst and Salvador Dali. His paintings also had an impact beyond the visual arts, inspiring composers such as Rachmaninoff and Mahler. In 1893, he moved to Italy permanently, where he indulged his passion for flying machines.