The Isle of Life
1888 · Oil and tempera on wood · Kunstmuseum Basel
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About this work
- Artist
- Arnold Böcklin (1827–1901)
- Year
- 1888
- Medium
- Oil and tempera on wood
- Original size
- 93.3 × 140.1 cm
- Collection
- Kunstmuseum Basel
- Movement
- Symbolism
A small green island rises from a still lake under a blue sky heaped with white clouds, crowded with tall trees, palms and a flowering yellow shrub, while a procession in red, white and blue robes dances across the grassy hilltop. In the water below, swans glide and partly nude nymphs and a triton bathe beside a rocky arch at the island's edge. Böcklin painted it in 1888, while living in Zürich, two years after the last of his five versions of the Isle of the Dead; its sunlit colour is far from that picture's dark cypresses and still water. It belongs to the Kunstmuseum Basel.
This print reproduces the whole work, uncropped, from a high-resolution scan of the original. The original is in the public domain.
Where it works
Blue sky, white swans and bright greens make a sunny Böcklin for a living room, dining room or bedroom with white or soft blue walls. Pair it with his Isle of the Dead and hang this one at 36×24 in a dark wood frame.
Style, size & framing detail
- Style
- Symbolism painting
- Era
- 19th century (1888)
- Orientation
- Landscape
- Mood
- calm
- Rooms
- living room, bedroom, dining room
- Good gift for
- housewarming, art lovers
Size. We'd hang this one at 36×24. Prints at 18×12, 24×16, 36×24 in — 18×12 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 24×16 above a console or sideboard; 36×24 as the statement piece above a sofa or headboard.
Framing. The gallery ground is part of the print, so frame it without a mat — black suits the deep tones of this period; dark wood warms it.
Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).
Details & materials
Shipping & returns
Is this the whole painting, or a crop?
Is The Isle of Life in the public domain?
What is it printed on?
When was The Isle of Life painted, and in what medium?
What size works above a sofa or bed?
About this design
The Madten promise
An exhibition poster
The same artwork as a gallery exhibition poster — title, artist & date typeset beneath the image on a soft ground.
