born Oct. 16, 1827, Basel, Switz.
died Jan. 16, 1901, Fiesole, Italy
Swiss-born Italian painter.
After studies and work in northern Europe and Paris, he won the patronage of the king of Bavaria with his mural Pan in the Bulrushes (1856–58). From 1858 to 1861 he taught at the Weimar Art School and executed mythological frescoes for the Public Art Collection in his native Basel. He settled in Italy, painting nymphs, satyrs, tritons, moody landscapes, and sinister allegories that presaged Symbolism and Surrealism . His later style was sombre, mystical, and morbid, as in his five versions of The Isle of the Dead (1880–86). Though most of his time was spent in Italy, he was the most influential artist in the German-speaking world in the late 19th century.
"Self-Portrait with Death as a Fiddler," oil on canvas by Arnold Böcklin, 1872; in ...
By courtesy of the Staatliche Museen Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Nationalgalerie, Berlin; photograph, Walter Steinkopf