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Artist: Carl Larsson (1853–1919)
Alternative names: Carl Olof Larsson
Swedish painter and interior designer
Title: (Swedish): Midvinterblot
Object type: Painting
Description: The painting shows a naked man with his head held high standing on a gilded sleigh drawn by four strong men, two pulling and two pushing. A one-eyed priest is shown in the centre of the picture with the hammer of the pagan God Thor raised above his head. In front of the priest, with his back to us, is the executioner wearing a red cloak. His head is bowed. The knife he is holding is hidden from the victim on the sleigh but we realize that, at any moment, he will drive it into the exposed chest of the naked man. The venue that Carl Larsson has created for the sacrifice is the pagan temple in Gamla Uppsala. The royal victim is the mystical King Domald and the story is taken from the famous Old Norse Prose Edda written in Iceland by Snorre Sturlasson early in the 13th century. Snorre claims that Domald was sacrificed in order to appease the gods and to bring to an end several years of failed harvests. There is no other evidence that Domald ever existed.
Date: Unknown date
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: Height: 640 cm (252 in). Width: 1,360 cm (535.4 in).
SKU: 275056
