Isle of the Dead (Die Toteninsel) 1883 by Arnold Bocklin

Isle of the Dead (Die Toteninsel) 1883 - Arnold Bocklin - Vintage Oil Painting

Product Overview

From the first sketch to the final varnish, Isle of the Dead (Die Toteninsel) 1883 is made by hand. Based on Arnold Bocklin's original. This vintage oil painting wall decor is crafted on artist-grade canvas for anyone who wants fine art oil painting with the character of an original.

Composition & Subject

1883
Oil on panel
80 cm (31.5 in.) x 150 cm (59.06 in.)
Alte Nationalgalerie - Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Germany.

Arnold Bocklin spent the autumn of 1879 on Ischia. The Castello Alfonso, on a small island nearby, deeply impressed him during his stay. When the young, widowed Marie Berna visited Bocklin’s studio in Florence in 1880 and asked for a “picture to dream by,” the memory of that landscape must have merged with earlier memories of, for example, the islands of the dead like San Michele in Venice and Etruscan cliff-necropolises. The Isle of the Dead became one of Bocklin’s most popular pictorial works. He achieved this by combining a limited number of ideas into an impressive atmospheric composition. The motifs — island, water, and castle or vil-la by the sea — are already familiar from many of his earlier works. However, in this case they have been concentrated into a statement of the artist’s Weltanschauung. The location is sinister. The viewer’s gaze is led up the steps but can penetrate no further into the darkness. The island’s strict symmetry, the calm horizontals and verticals, the circular island surrounded by high cliff walls, and the magical lighting create an atmosphere that is both solemn and sublime, evoking a sense of stillness and other-worldliness. The ripple-less surface of the water and the boat bearing the coffin with a figure shrouded in white behind it add a melancholy tone to the whole. The picture owned by the Nationalgalerie is the third of five versions. It was commissioned in 1883 by the art dealer Fritz Gurlitt. It was Gurlitt who then gave the work its memorable title and, with a keen eye for business, asked Max Klinger to make an etching of it. This was the version that established the extraordinary fame of the picture in the late nineteenth century. All-pervasive in the form of photographs and prints, the Isle of the Dead mirrored the feeling of a whole epoch: people identified with it and it became a favorite fin de siècle image.

Collectors often choose this fine art image when searching for fine art oil painting that feels substantial rather than decorative or disposable.

Materials & Craftsmanship

From primer to varnish, the work is done manually on artist-grade canvas. The absence of digital printing is deliberate: it keeps the fine art brushwork visible and gives the vintage oil painting wall decor a museum-like finish.

Product Details

• Every fine art canvas is hand painted in oils; no mechanical or digital reproduction at any stage.
• Comes with a 2-inch unpainted margin on every side, ready for stretcher bars or a frame.
• Studio-direct pricing and worldwide shipping on every fine art oil painting order.
• Available canvas sizes for this hand painted oil painting: 20 X 40 in, 24 X 48 in, 30 X 60 in, 36 X 72 in.
• Any size you need can be produced — just tell us your preferred dimensions.
• Multiple low-cost carriers available, including DHL, UPS, FedEx and USPS.
• Free canvas stretching on wooden stretcher bars; custom framing available on request.
• You will receive a photo of your completed painting by email for sign-off prior to shipping.

Styling & Placement

As living room wall decor, this canvas brings color and texture without visual noise. It scales well from a small study to a large living room feature wall, and it is a reliable choice when shopping for fine art oil painting as a gift.

Ordering & Peace of Mind

Whether the search term is fine art oil painting, living room wall decor, or vintage oil painting wall decor, this hand painted canvas delivers the same thing: a real painted surface, made to your chosen dimensions.