Viking Death

Parting from Orvar Odd (1866)
A painting by Swedish painter Mårten Eskil Winge (1825-1896)



Hervors Death by the Norwegian painter Peter Nicolai Arbo (1831-1892) shows the death of a valkyrie or shieldmaiden.

Both paintings are very similar in their gesture and their colours. They depict the moment of the "famous last words". And with this theme they are similar to a lot of others.
Every nation had its own dying heroes. But nevertheless they pretended to be so unique national, today they seem so similar.
Its the all european romantic hero-death-kitsch.

Viking Funerals

With romanticism and nationalsim european artists (and art buyers) turned their interest from a classical (means roman or greek) past to something, what they thought may have been their own history.
Looking for something, what could be considered an own "national"cult, they discovered the viking funeral. Although it was not really common in the older days, it was very popular in the 19th century.

Here two examples. The first is by the scottish painter Robert Gibb (1845-1932).
It may be the naive version of the story. Its idyllic and the people are mourning peaceully.



Totally different is the painting by the polish/russian painterHenryk Hector Siemiradzki (1843-1902).
He shows the burial of a varangian chief of the Kievan Rus, who was killed collecting tribute.
Its a dark barbaric feast with human sacrifices.
There could be no doubt that the painting was strong influenced by "The Death of Sardanapal"(1827) by Eugène Delacroix.