Melancholy 1885 - 1900

Arnold Böcklin painted this image entitled Melancholy in the late 19th century. Our gaze is drawn to a figure whose sorrow seems as profound as the ages. She holds a mirror, an ancient symbol of self-reflection, truth, and vanity. The mirror motif appears throughout art history. Consider its use by the Venetian painters, or even earlier, in vanitas paintings where the mirror symbolized earthly vanity and the fleeting nature of life. What is different here is that rather than beauty, she sees her own grief, becoming a prisoner of her inward contemplation. This image and its symbolism reach deep into our collective memory, stirring subconscious feelings of longing and the transience of existence. It reminds us that melancholy, like the mirror itself, is a constant companion throughout history, ever-present, ever-reflective, evolving with the changing times, and remaining timelessly human.