Arnold Böcklin and Summer's Day

'Summer's Day' (1881) by Arnold Böcklin; Galerie Neue Meister, Dresden

Arnold Böcklin (16 October 1827 - 16 January 1901) is best known for his masterpiece 'Isle of the Dead'. I've decided not to use this painting here because I've already used it in a post on my other blog. I struggled a bit to find another work by Böcklin that I like since 'Isle of the Dead' is so impressive and unsurpassable. But I was thinking that maybe I wouldn't even have liked 'Isle of the Dead' so much if I wouldn't have seen it in real life in Die Alte Nationalgalerie in Berlin. It had made a huge impression on me then. Böcklin is a symbolist painter and a lot of his paintings I find too depressing and eerie. I've chosen the painting 'Summer's Day' because of the bright blue sky, the large trees and the depiction of what looks like children playing. Beautiful colours and water reflections. But although it looks quite innocent, it also has an ominous feel to it so it might not be what it looks like.