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The Lorelei
From the collection of Smithsonian American Art Museum. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
The Lorelei, one of Albert Pinkham Ryder's larger paintings, links love and death, a common theme among late nineteenth-century artists, poets, and musicians. The tale of the Lorelei became popular in the mid-nineteenth century when German poet Heinrich Heine (1797-1856) penned a poem about her, which a number of composers set to music. Ryder's image is based on the second and third stanzas of the poem (above), and his friends reported that he sang "the song of the Lorelei" while working on this painting.
Smithsonian American Art Museum’s own descriptionSubjects
Credit lineThe Lorelei. ca. 1896 - 1917. Albert Pinkham Ryder, born New Bedford, MA 1847-died New York City 1917. Smithsonian American Art Museum, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Tulip Tree Foundation, Robin B. Martin, Trustee. CC0.
