Spring in a Narrow Gorge (Quell in einer
(5000-1996)

Symmetrically composed with high cliffs and dark trees framing an aperture of sky at the end of a gorge, this landscape features a single brilliantly green birch tree.Even without human figures or animals, Böcklin’s painting seems decidedly more symbolic than descriptive. Is this a representation of life’s brevity or its eternity? Its meaning is veiled; the artist was noted for his ability to conjure mood through landscape without clear narrative content.

Oil on canvas (1881)

by Arnold Böcklin (German, born Switzerland, 1827-1901)