Arnold Böcklin

G. Holthusen, Hamburg (by 1898)
Paul Cassirer, Berlin (by 1918)
Galerie Neupert, Zürich (by 1948)
Purchased from the above by the family of the present owner in 1948

Hamburg, Kunsthalle und Kunstverein zu Hamburg, Ausstellung von Werken Arnold Böcklins, veranstaltet zur Feier seines 70. Geburtstages, 1898, no. 38
Henriette Mendelsohn, Böcklin (from the Geisteshelden. Führende Geister series), Berlin, 1901, p. 242
Heinrich Alfred Schmid, 'Arnold Böcklin. Sein Leben und sein Schaffen', in Arnold Böcklin, Eine Auswahl der hervorragendsten Werke des Künstlers in Photogravüre, Munich, 1901, p. 2, illustrated
Gustav Floerke, Zehn Jahre mit Böcklin. Aufzeichnungen und Entwürfe, Munich, 1902, p. 72
Heinrich Alfred Schmid, Verzeichnis der Werke Arnold Böcklins, Munich, 1903, no. 360
Heinrich Alfred Schmid, 'Böcklin und die Alten Meister', part 2, in Die Kunst, vol. 37, Munich, 1918, p. 239, illustrated
Heinrich Alfred Schmid, Arnold Böcklin, Munich, 1922, pp. 13-14, discussed; pl. 87, illustrated
Fritz von Ostini, Böcklin, Bielefeld, 1925, p. 112
Jürgen Wissmann, Arnold Böcklin und das Nachleben seiner Malerei, Münster, 1968, p. 30
Günther Kleineberg, Die Entwicklung der Naturpersonifizierung im Werk Arnold Böcklins, Göttingen, 1971, p. 160
Siegfried Wichmann, Arnold Böcklin. Schlachten, Amazonen- und Brückenkampf, Sindelfingen, 1977, pp. 12-43, discussed
Rolf Andree, Arnold Böcklin. Die Gemälde, Zurich, 1977, p. 486, no. 416, catalogued and illustrated

The panel is flat and even. UV light reveals some minimal retouching, notably a few spots above the figure on horseback near the left edge, some minor spots between the left edge and the first arch, and a small spot addressing a scratch in the 'B' of the signature. Overall this work is in good condition. Held in a decorative bronze-painted wood and plaster frame. On a 'Winsor & Newton, Artists' Colourmen to her Majesty' panel (an old label on the reverse).
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Inspired by Rubens' Battle of the Amazons (Alte Pinakothek, Munich; fig. 1), Böcklin depicts the crescendo of a battle between a primeval fair-skinned (Germanic) tribe against a civilised and organised (Roman) army. It is one of three closely related paintings of the subject Böcklin completed between 1889 and 1892. The final version (Andree no. 418; fig. 2) was in fact the one he started first. Frustrated and dissatisfied with his progress, he began work on the present work, in which he explored the subject afresh, this time taking his inspiration from Rubens's flowing forms and dramatic colours. Another, more narrative, interpretation (Andree no. 416) followed the same year, before Böcklin returned to, and completed, the final version.

Böcklin's choice of subject was no doubt influenced by philosophies current at the time, notably Nietzsche's notion of the 'blond beast' expounded in his polemic, Zur Genealogie der Moral (On the Genealogy of Morals), published in 1887. In recoiling from what he saw as a flaccid nineteenth-century European culture, Nietzsche suggests that in all civilsations, pent up resentment (alienation, oppression) becomes a creative force. Referring to the lion, the great feline predator with its shaggy blond mane and terrific roar, he called longingly for 'some pack of blond beasts of prey, a conqueror and master race which, organized for war and with the ability to organize, unhesitatingly lays its terrible claws upon a populace.' In this context, Böcklin's painting can be read as the slave revolt of Christian morality by the alienated, oppressed masses of the Roman Empire.