Oil Painter Copy of ‘The Isle of Dead’ by Arnold Böcklin (1827-1901). Original Price: $4,000

Design Plus Gallery presents a cope of Arnold Böcklin’s ‘The Isle of Dead’. Though obscure today it had been one of the most popular paintings in all of Europe in the 1930s. The work features a small, shadowy island dotted with cypress trees, replete with a stone seawall and entryways and ramparts built into the towering cliffs. Approaching from the water is a small boat, carrying a boatman, as well as a coffin and figure both shrouded in white with this final detail being added at Berna’s request. The boat and the figure at its helm have drawn comparisons to Charon, the ferryman from Greek mythology who would take the souls of the dead across the River Styx to Hades. It is a quiet and austere composition, seeming to beg as many questions as it answers. This is a copy from an accomplished oil pointer that was trained to faithfully execute copies of famous paintings in museums. This copy has surface wear and is missing the glass to protect the canvas from the elements, but is in fact a high-quality representation of its original. Visible conditions and wear from usage + age.