This painting, the first of five versions done between 1880 and 1886, resulted from a request made by Marie Berna, whose husband had recently died. She asked Böcklin to paint a picture on the theme of her bereavement. In 1883, the Berlin art dealer Fritz Gurlitt provided the title by which all five versions are now known: Toteninsel, or Island of the Dead. Böcklin referred to the work as "A Still Place," "A Silent Island," and later, "Island of the Graves."

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