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ARNOLD BÖCKLIN (1827-1901)

THE ISLAND OF THE DEAD


Florence's Swiss-owned so-called 'English' Cemetery is the Swiss painter Arnold Böcklin's 'Island of the Dead', for he buried his infant daughter, Maria Anna, here (§142. Böcklin/+/ Maria Anna/ Arnoldo/ Svizzera/ Firenze/ 20 Marzo/ 1877/ Mesi 7/ 1387), and then obsessively painted this scene five times, of which we show the four extant versions. It is also a composite, recalling other Italian island such as Venice's cemetery on the island of San Michele to which bodies are brought by gondola. (Search on the web also for 'Arnold Boecklin', and for 'Toteninsel' or 'Isola dei morti'.) At the time of Maria Böcklin's burial, the medieval wall had already been razed by Poggi and the present oval island built. Arnold Böcklin is himself buried in the Allori Cemetery near Galluzzo. Serge Rachmaninoff composed his symphony on this painting.

 

 
1880 New York/                                                              1880 Basel/                                        

 
1883 Berlin/                                                                1886 Leipzig


FLORIN WEBSITE © JULIA BOLTON HOLLOWAY, AUREO ANELLO ASSOCIATION, 1997-2010  FLORENCE'S 'ENGLISH' CEMETERY || BIBLIOTECA E BOTTEGA FIORETTA MAZZEI || ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING || FLORENCE IN SEPIA  ||  BRUNETTO LATINO, DANTE ALIGHIERI AND GEOFFREY CHAUCER || E-BOOKS || ANGLO-ITALIAN STUDIES || CITY AND BOOK I,II, III, IV || NON-PROFIT GUIDE TO COMMERCE IN FLORENCE || AUREO ANELLO, CATALOGUE || 'ENGLISH' CEMETERY BLOG