Student Artwork Guide
Copyright This work is in the public domain. Arnold Böcklin died in 1901; copyright lasts 70 years after the artist’s death, so it ended in 1971.
In context
The plague — Arnold Böcklin
Row above: the years. Row below: how old the artist was at the start and at the end of each span — 0 at birth, 74 at death.
Painted when the artist was 71. The artist lived to 74. 25 of the 26 dated works by this artist in our catalogue came earlier.
Shaded: the lifetime of Arnold Böcklin (1827–1901) ▲ this work, 1898 every dated painting, decade by decade
First works: up to 1877 Main working years: 1877–1887 Late works: from 1887
Those three bands split the works this catalogue has a date for into a first quarter, a middle half and a last quarter. They are not the artist’s complete output: a thin stretch may be a gap in the record rather than a quiet spell. The same years with the artist’s life laid along them
Pick one work above: name two things it shares with this one, and one thing that's different.
More works to set beside this one: originaluniqueart.com/en/art/similar/arnold-bocklin-the-plague-9GEGJQ-en/
Measured from the image
Main colour
Black #0d0c0c
Catalogued palette
These colours inside the artist’s whole palette Find other paintings by colour
The ten leading countries
Find the three darkest countries on the map. Is the museum that keeps this painting in any of them? Write down one reason people far away might look at it.
Together these works take 82.6% of all the attention this artist's paintings received over the last twelve months. The catalogue holds 180 works by this artist, of which 53 were looked at at least once. This painting ranks 15 of them, with 1.0% of that attention. The same counts, month by month
Bars measure attention, not quality. Pick the work at the top and this one: name one thing that might make a painting famous beyond how well it is painted.
Artist and museum
Born in Basel, Switzerland
arnold böcklin, a swiss symbolist painter, was born on october 16, 1827, in basel, switzerland. his father, christian frederick böcklin, descended from an old family of schaffhausen and engaged in the silk trade. arnold's mother, ursula lippe, was a native of the same city. he studied at the düsseldorf academy under schirmer, becoming a friend of anselm feuerbach. böcklin is associated with the düsseldorf school of painting.
böcklin's artistic journey took him to various cities, including paris, where he worked at the louvre, and rome, where he was influenced by its sights. his work often featured allegorical and mythological figures in settings involving classical architecture, exploring themes of death and mortality.
great park, one of his earliest works, showcased ancient mythology.
nymph and satyr (1858) and sappho (1859) were notable works from this period.
böcklin's portrait of myself, with death playing a violin (1872) exemplified his unique style.
böcklin is best known for his five versions of the isle of the dead (1880-1886), which evoked the english cemetery in florence, where his daughter was buried. his work influenced younger artists like hans thoma and inspired several late-romantic composers.
clement greenberg described böcklin's work as "one of the most consummate expressions" of its time.
böcklin's style overlapped with the pre-raphaelites, emphasizing the world of dreams and mysticism.
böcklin's work can be found in various museums, including:
öffentliche kunstsammlung (basel, switzerland)
kunstmuseum basel (switzerland)
museum kunsthaus zürich (zürich, switzerland)
explore more of böcklin's work and the symbolist movement on AllPaintingsStore:
arnold böcklin's artworks
symbolist painting on wikipedia
kunstmuseum basel (switzerland): a comprehensive guide
originaluniqueart.com/en/art/download/arnold-bocklin-the-plague-9GEGJQ-en/
Look closely
The plague — Arnold Böcklin
Answer in your own words. There are no wrong answers here — only answers you can explain.
Write a short paragraph about this artwork. Use the facts from the earlier parts of this guide, and your answers above.
"The plague" is available as a high-resolution digital image download, purchased directly on its Digital Image page.
"The plague" by Arnold Böcklin is recorded as balanced, with a soft shadow luminance.
"The plague" by Arnold Böcklin has a portrait format. The format describes the proportions of the composition.