mysteriousartcentury:Arnold Böcklin (1827-1901), Self-Portrait with Death Playing the Fiddle, 1

mysteriousartcentury:

Arnold Böcklin (1827-1901), Self-Portrait with Death Playing the Fiddle, 1872, oil on canvas, 61 x 75 cm. Alte Nationalgalerie
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In this self-portrait, Death is playing on the lowest string, tuned to G, which is here also the only string of the fiddle. The painter, alert, has paused in his work. According to the story, Böcklin only painted in the figure of Death in response to his friends’ asking what he seemed to be listening to. This clearly relates to the search for the ultimate that characterizes this self-portrait, and the inspiration the artist draws from the constant proximity of death.
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Mysterious Art Century
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