Arnold Böcklin
A Sacred Grove, um 1871
Öl auf Leinwand, 80,5 x 103,1 cm
Vor 1874 durch Adolf Friedrich Graf von Schack erworben
Inv. Nr. 11530
A Sacred Grove
Böcklin often lent his paintings an aura of mystery and unreality by including fabulous creatures and other mythological elements. In this example a unicorn sits on the ground before a dark grove, flanked by two golden sacrificial bowls on tall stands. The subject is enigmatic. In Schack’s opinion the picture shows ‘one of Armida’s magic forests guarded by unicorns’.