Literature extends far beyond hardcover books and represents itself across multiple media including artwork. Artwork has been used for centuries to communicate and share messages of the time and additionally serves as a timestamp of opinions, teachings, and knowledge. Knut Ekwall’s, “The Fisherman and the Siren,” 1858, extends a compelling story that demonstrates the intensity of male desire and the inescapable consequences of yielding to temptation through a religious lens. During this time Luthern was the key religion in Sweden, where they believed that God would not allow his people to be tempted, and if he did he would save them, although God does not save the man in the painting. Ekwall utilizes the circle as a focal point, where everything from the water currents, the clouds, and even the figures themselves are based on a circular and revolving motion. These circular-based composition and imagery techniques used in the painting serve to demonstrate his cautionary lesson about the continuous loop of dangers involved in succumbing to the allure of forbidden desires. This painting is a religious rebellion that focuses on circularity and showcases the inevitable repetitive nature of desire/ temptation and the consequences that even God cannot save you from. 

In this painting, the fisherman is facing a moral dilemma as he fails to avoid the temptation of the Siren and succumbs to the power of her knowledge and voice. This failure to disregard temptation and the soon-to-be failure to survive is underlined with defiance towards the religion at the time, as Ekwall projects the anti-Luteran belief that God will not always provide a savior. Knut Ekwall depicts the exact moment after temptation strikes as the man is unwillingly being dragged beneath the water, reaching for an opportunity to save himself from his mistake. His hope for refuge is demonstrated in the straining of his arms which form a half circle on the outer layers of the whirlpool, that seeks to overtake him. With his arms in a half-circle shape and the position of his body, as being partially consumed by the Ocean, the painting showcases that he has not reached the totality of the endless temptation cycle. He reaches out but there is nothing to hold onto; at this moment his faith has left him, and powers that want to take him down are the only things left for him to reach for. This is Knut Ekwall’s rebellion in the form of circularity, the depiction of an endless cycle with vanishing hope for a man and his desires, circling one another down into death.  

In terms of positionality, the two figures’ bodies are wrapped around one another, as the Siren’s arms wrap around his underarms and her body swirls around him, where he is trapped underneath her. The concept of his body not just being within the water but being underneath her provides him no escape, where his only choice is to fall into the endless circle and into the depths of the ocean. Her hair becomes the water and begins its circulation of his body in movement with the water that seeks to overtake him. The swirling of the water begins to turn into a dangerous whirlpool that is unavoidable for the fisherman. She remains in control and floats gracefully above the water, luring him further and further into his death, where she grabs at his body as if she is attempting to release him from his grasp for safety. The position of their bodies in this encapsulating motion is critical to the argument which demonstrates the repetitive nature of desire and how powerless one is in the face of “successful” temptation. There is a contrast in how the beings connect to one another; the fisherman avoids her gaze as he is still attempting to find hope and the Siren fixes her eyes onto him showcasing her dominance and power, as she has won. 

The color choices in the artwork add additional evidence to highlight the rebellious argument of the circulatory-based behavior of temptation. The color of the fisherman’s shirt blends into the deep blue/grey colors of the water and the viewer is unable to see his lower half, as it has been submerged. The water slowly owns him and becomes a relic of its possession, as his body loses its separation from the dangerous ocean. This is highly contrasted in the way the Siren is depicted with her idyllic beauty and pale skin color, separating her from the water, and placing it above its grasp. Due to the contrasting colors, the Siren immediately becomes the main focus, which then leads the eye to the circular patterns in the water, then continuously wields the fisherman to his death. Her vibrant hair follows this circular pattern demonstrating the power she possesses within the water and her ability to control it, in contrast to the fisherman’s inability to avoid it. Her nude body alludes even more to the idea of temptation and the power of a woman to tempt a man, even to the extent of his death. By creating a juxtaposition between the idyllic beauty of the siren with the eery landscape, Ekwall develops an inescapable environment of danger that warns viewers that God may not save them from the tempting dangers within the Ocean. 

Ekwall’s painting holds a central claim that warns viewers that the pursuit of forbidden desires leads to inevitable destruction, and further cautions that God is incapable of saving one from such temptations. Ultimately, Ekwall’s “The Fisherman and the Siren”, 1858,  is a religious rebellion against the Luthern church and a defiance of the idea of God as a savior. Through his portrayal of the fisherman’s inner and physical struggle cast against the backdrop of the seas and Sirens, Ekwall highlights the destructive nature of succumbing to desires that have the potential to lead individuals to their deaths. This painting is a timeless reminder and warning of the importance of exercising restraint and resistance in the face of forbidden temptations.