Sea Idyll

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Künstler*in Arnold Böcklin (1827 Basel – 1901 Fiesole)

Object typeGemälde
MediumOil on wood
Dimensions
167 x 224 cm
SignatureSign. und dat. links unten: A. Böcklin 1887
Inventory number432
Locations Derzeit nicht ausgestellt
The merman has grabbed the seal firmly by the scruff of its neck. His child gawps in astonishment at the catch, while the mother only just keeps hold of a sleeping infant. Böcklin’s Sea Idyll can be interpreted as a bourgeois family, from whom the painter distances himself with subtle irony. Instead of a table, the family has gathered around a rock, while still assuming the classic gender roles: the man is the family’s breadwinner, the woman looks after the children. Yet this family is free from social norms and constraints. The nude merfolk move through their element, water, without shame, but also with no overt displays of eroticism.