Midwinter's Sacrifice
Sign in to saveAlso known as Midvinterblot
Midvinterblot (Swedish for "Midwinter sacrifice") is a painting by the Swedish painter Carl Larsson, created in 1915 for the hall of the central staircase in Nationalmuseum in Stockholm. It has been called Sweden's most controversial painting.
~13 min read
Encyclopedic overview
10 sectionsContents
- Background
- Sources and inspiration
- Evolution of the work
- First version
- Second version
- Third version
- The final versions and rejection
- The later controversy and eventual acceptance
- Notes
- Bibliography
Midvinterblot (Swedish for "Midwinter sacrifice") is a painting by the Swedish painter Carl Larsson, created in 1915 for the hall of the central staircase in Nationalmuseum in Stockholm. It has been called Sweden's most controversial painting.
The painting depicts a legend from Norse mythology in which the Swedish king Domalde is sacrificed to avert famine. After long debate, the painting was rejected by the museum; but the controversy resurfaced in the late 20th century, and the painting finally was placed where Carl Larsson had intended.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Midwinter's Sacrifice” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.