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“The Sea Serpent“, 1905/06

Leopold Museum,
Vienna © Bildrecht,
Vienna 2026
Gouache, watercolor, distemper on paper
35.5×25 cm

Artists

  • Alfred Kubin

    (Litoměřice 1877–1959 Zwickledt)

Unfortunately not on display at the moment
Using the paste painting technique, in which watercolor is mixed with paste, Alfred Kubin (1877-1959) developed the motif of “The Sea Serpent”. Its massive yet curvy, agile body is crowned by a sparsely haired head. Despite the gloomy surroundings with little light effects, the animal gazes out of the page in a friendly manner, quite contrary to the myths and legends of murderous sea monsters. The color effect with this technique is unusual and distinctive. For Kubin’s creative inventiveness, it was a way to create fantastic creatures in a primeval underwater cosmos. The paradisiacal, primeval bond between nature and creatures was a phenomenon of the period and a favored motif among the Symbolist artists. The intangible spaces of primeval creation also became a setting for countless variations of Kubin’s imagination.

AK, 2025

Object data

Artist/author
  • Alfred Kubin
Title
“The Sea Serpent“
Date
1905/06
Art movement
Symbolism
Category
Graphic work
Material​/technique
Gouache, watercolor, distemper on paper
Dimensions
35.5×25 cm
Signature
Signed lower right: AKubin
Credit line
Leopold Museum, Vienna, Inv. 887
Inventory access
Contributed to the Leopold Museum-Privatstiftung in 1994
Selection of Reference works
  • Alfred Kubin. Bekenntnisse einer gequälten Seele, hrsg. von Hans-Peter Wipplinger, Köln 2022 (Ausst.-Kat. Leopold Museum, Wien, 16.04.2022–24.07.2022).
  • Alfred Kubin. Aus meinem Reich. Meisterblätter aus dem Leopold Museum, hrsg. von Rudolf Leopold/Romana Schuler, Wien 2002 (Ausst.-Kat. Leopold Museum, Wien, 05.10.2002-06.01.2003).
Keywords
snakemonsters of the seasea

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Provenance

Provenance research
Leopold Museum i
Dr. Rudolf Leopold, Wien (o.D.);
Leopold Museum-Privatstiftung, Wien (seit 1994).

For provenance related information, please contact us.

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snakemonsters of the seasea

2023/2024 Partial funding for digitization by the Federal Ministry for Arts, Culture, the Civil Service and Sport „Kulturerbe digital“ as part of NextGenerationEU.