Sunday, June 26, 2011

Valdemar by Tuxen

Here's a painting called, "King Valdemar the Great and Bishop Absalon topples the god Svantevit at Arkona, the Wendish capital during the conquest and Christianization of Pomerania in 1168."


 It's by Laurits Tuxen (1853–1927), a Danish painter who studied in the Royal Danish Academy and under Bonnat in Paris.


Another version by the same artist, perhaps a sketch. From Inspirational Art Works
at

8 comments:

  1. CarolynJune 26, 2011 at 10:33 PM

    Beautiful work, Thank you for showing

    ReplyDelete
  2. Petr MoresJune 27, 2011 at 1:08 AM

    It is interesting to compare the two. He omitted the smoke from burning buildings from the bigger one, perhaps to avoid the implication that conversion to Christianity might not have been completely non-violent. Also the contrast of the shining cross against the dark sky was a bit over the top.

    All in all, a picture like this, though painted very well, leaves me at a loss. It depicts Christianity as a triumphant political and even military force, with no reference to its actual gist. Kramskoi's Christ in the Wilderness is a good example of the opposite approach.

    Anyway, thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  3. JohanJune 27, 2011 at 2:05 AM

    Wow I didn't know this blog http://inspirationalartworks.blogspot.com
    Thanks James!

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousJune 27, 2011 at 2:07 AM

    This is a quite famous incident in Danish history. I remember having heard the story and read about it numerous times as a kid, before I discovered this painting. That was really a "wow" moment.

    For bishop Absalon (who, by the way, is also considered the founder of Copenhagen), Christianity was definitely a triumphant political and military force. The painting is quite faithful to the tone of the old account of the incident.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Daily Car ReviewsJune 27, 2011 at 10:13 AM

    interresting comparison.
    +follow

    ReplyDelete
  6. NickJune 27, 2011 at 2:29 PM

    I can't tell on the final version whether that's a cross on the left, creating a tangent with a hill behind...
    Or whether it's a house...

    ReplyDelete
  7. RasmusJuly 9, 2013 at 5:56 AM

    I just saw this piece yesterday, and was so mad at the museum shop, that didn't have ONE book with decent copys of the paintings.

    And i must say it's a bit terrible to look at such a small and GREEN replica, after seeing the real thing (which is around four meters wide!)

    So the lowest is definitely a sketch, but the colors are closer to the real deal.

    www.rasmusaagaard.com
    www.tegneskolekbh.dk

    ReplyDelete
  8. RasmusJuly 9, 2013 at 5:58 AM

    to NICK:
    The 'X' on the left is most definitely a house.

    www.rasmusaagaard.com
    www.tegneskolekbh.dk

    ReplyDelete

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