Fine Art Poster
From $39
A giclée print on 200gsm matte fine art paper, using a twelve-colour process for accurate, fade-resistant colour. Supplied unframed, delivered flat or rolled.
Mermaids at Play - Arnold Böcklin
Regular price
$39.00 USD
Sale price
$39.00 USD
Regular price
Archival giclée
Frames arrive ready to hang
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Description
A dramatic Symbolist painting by Arnold Böcklin, depicting mythological sea creatures amidst crashing waves and dark rock formations.
Arnold Böcklin, a central figure in the Symbolist movement, produced this work in 1886. The painting depicts a group of mermaids and mermen interacting with the turbulent sea around a dark, jagged rock formation. The composition captures a moment of chaotic movement, with figures diving, climbing, and emerging from the churning white foam of the waves. Böcklin often drew upon classical mythology to explore themes of nature, mortality, and the subconscious, moving away from the strict realism popular in the mid-nineteenth century.
The figures are rendered with a sense of physical weight, contrasting with the ethereal nature of the mythological subjects. The artist employs a palette dominated by the dark, obsidian tones of the rocks and the stark white of the crashing water, which serves to heighten the drama of the scene. One mermaid is captured in a mid-air dive, her tail arched against the sky, while others cling to the wet stone or bob in the surf. A merman with an aged, weathered face appears near the bottom right, providing a curious juxtaposition to the youthful figures surrounding him.
Böcklin's approach to this subject reflects his interest in the psychological power of myth. Rather than presenting a serene or decorative interpretation of sea creatures, he presents them as wild, elemental beings. The brushwork is precise, allowing for the detailed rendering of the water's spray and the texture of the wet skin against the harsh rock. This work is characteristic of his later period, where he frequently returned to themes of the sea and its inhabitants, often imbuing them with a sense of mystery and untamed energy. The painting remains a clear example of his ability to blend academic technique with imaginative, often unsettling, subject matter.
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Each print is produced to order using 12-colour giclée printing on FSC-certified archival paper. Designed in Britain and printed at your nearest production hub to reduce waste and speed up delivery.
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Specific Features
Every Solis piece is made to order with archival, gallery-quality materials built to last.
- Museum-grade giclée printing for rich, fade-resistant colour
- Archival matte fine-art paper, FSC-certified
- Multiple sizes and framing options available
- Frames in black, natural wood, dark wood or white
- Framed prints arrive ready to hang
Care & Cleaning
To keep your artwork looking its best:
- Dust gently with a soft, dry cloth
- Avoid prolonged direct sunlight
- Never use liquid cleaners on the print or canvas surface
- Keep in a dry, room-temperature space
- Handle prints with clean, dry hands
Materials & Sizing
Museum-grade giclée on FSC-certified archival matte paper, with framed and canvas options.
- Paper sizes: A4, A3, A2, A1, A0 and B2 (50×70 cm)
- Canvas: XS (20×30 cm) to Large (60×90 cm)
- Frames: black, natural wood, dark wood or white
Complete The Look
Mermaids at Play - Arnold Böcklin
Regular price
From $39.00 USD
Sale price
From $39.00 USD
Regular price
Fine Art Poster / Small Square (30x30 cm) / -
Artist Biography
Arnold Bocklin
Bocklin lost eight of his fourteen children. Isle of the Dead, the painting that made him the most famous artist in late nineteenth-century Germany, partly evokes the English Cemetery in Florence, where his baby daughter Maria was buried. He painted five versions between 1880 and 1886; a sixth was begun with his son Carlo and completed by Carlo after his father's death. The title was given by an art dealer, not by Bocklin, who described the image only as "a dream picture: it must produce such a stillness that one would be awed by a knock on the door".
He was born in Basel in 1827 and studied in Dusseldorf, Antwerp, Brussels and Paris, but found his real inspiration in Italy, where he lived intermittently and where he spent his final years. His landscapes are not observed but invented: mythological creatures inhabit rocky coastlines, centaurs stand in forests, mermaids play in the sea. The Romanticism of his training was filtered through Italian light and classical allusion into a Symbolism that anticipated both the Metaphysical painters and the Surrealists.
Isle of the Dead hung in reproduction in seemingly every middle-class home in Germany at the turn of the century. Sigmund Freud kept a copy in his office. When Marcel Duchamp was asked to name his favourite painter, he named Bocklin, whether sincerely or provocatively remains unclear.
Bocklin also painted a counterpart, Island of Life (1888), which has remained far less well known. He died in San Domenico di Fiesole, near Florence, in 1901, at seventy-three.
He was born in Basel in 1827 and studied in Dusseldorf, Antwerp, Brussels and Paris, but found his real inspiration in Italy, where he lived intermittently and where he spent his final years. His landscapes are not observed but invented: mythological creatures inhabit rocky coastlines, centaurs stand in forests, mermaids play in the sea. The Romanticism of his training was filtered through Italian light and classical allusion into a Symbolism that anticipated both the Metaphysical painters and the Surrealists.
Isle of the Dead hung in reproduction in seemingly every middle-class home in Germany at the turn of the century. Sigmund Freud kept a copy in his office. When Marcel Duchamp was asked to name his favourite painter, he named Bocklin, whether sincerely or provocatively remains unclear.
Bocklin also painted a counterpart, Island of Life (1888), which has remained far less well known. He died in San Domenico di Fiesole, near Florence, in 1901, at seventy-three.
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Fine Art Framed
From $119
The same fine art print in a solid wood frame with UV-protective acrylic glaze and rigid backing. Five frame colours. Arrives ready to hang.
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