Rachmaninoff/Bocklin

[ivorysoup]

It is said that Rachmaninoff's B minor Prelude (op. 32 no. 10) was inspired by a Bocklin painting, "The Return". I was wondering if anyone had seen this painting, and if it was online. I have searched around google and yahoo for it, but have not been successful.

[Motrax]

Unfortunately, the painting is almost definitely not online. It's in a museum in Switzerland, I believe. Although I haven't seen the painting myself, it was described to me as a man (a soldier, if my memory serves right) in the forground looking down into a vale where a small town sits.

Here's a good webpage to give you an idea of Bocklin's style:

https://www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/bocklin_arnold.html

("Isle of the Dead" is featured there, which Rachmaninoff turned into a symphonic poem. I have a suspicion that Rachmaninoff used Bocklin's works in a few other pieces as well, though that can't be confirmed seeing as how Rachmaninoff has been dead for roughly 60 years. )