Isle of the Dead or Die Toteninsel in German is the most well known painting by the Swiss Symbolist painter Arnold Böcklin. It’s more of a series of paintings than one single artwork though as the artist painted five different versions of the famous painting, along with a sixth that he did with his son Carlo in the last year of his life in 1901.
The painting has become so iconic that it is probably more famous than the artist himself. Most people would know the painting but fewer people would be able to name the artist who created the painting.
Arnold Böcklin himself referred to the work as “a dream picture: it must produce such a stillness that one would be awed by a knock on the door.“
Six Different Versions of the Isle of the Dead Painting
The First version of the painting was finished in May of 1880. It’s oil on canvas and measures 111 x 155cm (43.7 x 61 inches.) It’s in the collection of the Öffentliche Kunstsammlung, Kunstmuseum, Basel in Switzerland.
The Second version of the famous painting was also painted in 1880, finished in the month of June. These first two versions were originally called Die Gräberinsel, meaning Tomb Island. It’s a slightly smaller work with dimensions of 74 × 122cm (29 x 48 inches) and it’s oil on board. It now hangs in the The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, United States.
The Third version of the Isle of the Dead was painted a few years later in 1883. It’s a much lighter version than the previous two paintings but it still has that same solemn, dark feeling about it, as if one should be silent and respectful while the white figure on the boat passes from one reality into another. Slightly smaller than the original painting, it is 80 x 150cm or 31.5 x 59 inches and it’s now in the collection of Alte Nationalgalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin in Germany. This version was also once owned by Adolf Hitler who had a collection of up to eleven works by Arnold Böcklin, so he was obviously a big fan of the Swiss artist.
The Fourth version of the work was destroyed during World War II when Berlin was being bombed. All that remains of it is a black and white photograph. It was oil on copper and measured 81 x 151cm or 31.9 x 59.4 inches. It has been said that “financial imperatives” inspired this version of the painting.
The Fifth version of the picture oil on board painted in 1886 and is 80 x 150cm or 31.5 x 59 inches. It was a commission from the Museum of Fine Arts, Leipzig, Saxony, Germany who still owns the painting today.
The Sixth version of the painting was created in the year that the artist died and is said to have been painted by Arnold and his son Carlo Böcklin. I’m guessing that either his son did most of the work or Arnold had lost his will to paint as it has none of the magic of the previous 5 versions of the iconic painting. It is in the collection of the Hermitage Museum, Saint-Petersburg in Russia.
Artworks Inspired by the Isle of the Dead Painting
Isle of the Dead has inspired countless tributes and homage works in music, film, literature, theater, illustration, ballet, craft, furniture design, and of course, painting.
Fellow Swiss artist H. R. Giger paid homage with his own biomechanical version of the haunting image by Böcklin. Hommage à Böcklin was created in 1977.
The Australian surrealist artist James Gleeson paid tribute to the painting with his metamorphic 1989 work titled Avernus Transvisioned as Böcklin’s Isle.
Diego Giacometti produced a small bronze table or console titled “Hommage à Böcklin” as a tribute to the famous Isle of the Dead painting by Arnold Bocklin. He and his brother Alberto Giacometti were both fond of the work of Böcklin.
The four cypress trees and rising moon (or is the disc symbolic of a spirit passing?) echo the stillness and the composition of the Isle of Dead painting, while the inquisitive owl perched off to the right is typical of works by Diego. It is a homage to a great painting but also a work of art that stands on its own two feet, or in this case, four feet.
Salvador Dali’s painting inspired by the Böcklin masterpiece definitely has the longest title but the work itself has none of the drama of the original. “The True Painting of the ‘Isle of the Dead’ by Arnold Böcklin at the Hour of the Angelus” was painted by the Spanish surrealist artist in 1932.
More on Famous Swiss Artist Arnold Böcklin
How has the Isle of the Dead painting influenced your work? Let us know what you think about the famous painting by Arnold Bocklin in the comments below.
- Arnold Böcklin Quotes – See quotes by the famous Symbolist artist.
- Arnold Böcklin Biography – Information on the life and work of the Swiss painter.
Related or similar popular artists include: Andrew Wyeth, Salvador Dali, Alberto Giacometti, and other Famous Swiss Artists.
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