Spring in a Narrow Gorge (Quell in einer Felsschluct)

Symmetrically composed with high cliffs and dark trees framing an aperture of sky at the end of a gorge, this landscape features a single brilliantly green birch tree.

Even without human figures or animals, Böcklin’s painting seems decidedly more symbolic than descriptive. Is this a representation of life’s brevity or its eternity? Its meaning is veiled; the artist was noted for his ability to conjure mood through landscape without clear narrative content.