Summer

The glowing deep blue sky lends the painterly opulence of this hillside meadow and trees an air of unreality, and it is only on closer observation that we see that the couple with a lute in the grass are wearing Renaissance clothing: thus the painting is clearly more than a mere portrayal of nature. The dancing cupids in the sky, which may at first pass for clouds, add to the dream-like quality of the picture. Böcklin’s influence is particularly evident here, although more for his use of colour than for his mythological motifs.