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 exhibition-poster edition shows the whole work beneath original typography set in-house. 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 24×36 in a dark wood frame.
Style, size & framing detail
- Style
- Exhibition poster of a Symbolism painting
- Era
- 19th century (1888)
- Orientation
- Portrait
- Palette
- cream & beige
- Mood
- calm
- Rooms
- living room, bedroom, dining room, hallway or entryway
- Good gift for
- housewarming, art lovers
Size. We'd hang this one at 24×36. Prints at 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in — 12×18 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 16×24 above a desk, console or in a hallway; 24×36 as the statement piece above a sofa or bed.
Framing. Exhibition posters sit best in a slim black frame with no mat — the typeset margin is the mat.
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
A fine-art print
The same artwork as a clean fine-art print — the image shown large with a minimal caption.
