Arnold Böcklin: Gothic Paintings For Inspiration

Arnold Böcklin was a Swiss painter; known for his symbolistic paintings with gothic themes.

He was born in Switzerland in 1827; and had to stand up to his father in order to chase his dream of becoming a painter. After attending art school in 1845; he went on a grand tour of Europe; as was the custom then; visiting Brussels, Antwerp, Switzerland and Paris.

Arnold Bocklin lived in some of the most important cultural cities of the period such as Weimar; Florence and Rome. He was keen on Greco-Roman art; and took most of his inspiration from it.

He had strong opinions about his craft; such as:

"Just as it is poetry's task to express feelings, painting must provoke them too. A picture must give the spectator as much food for thought as a poem and must make the same kind of impression as a piece of music..."

"Painting should pervade the soul in the same way, and as long as it does not do this it is nothing more than a brainless handicraft."

I've selected three of his pictures, which you can see below. For more, visit the sites devoted Arnold Bocklin's work mentioned at the bottom of the post.

http://www.artmagick.com/pictures/artist.aspx?artist=arnold-bocklin&page=1

http://www.arnoldbocklin.com/index.htm