Oil on canvas
73x59.5 cm
Signed lower right: PNArbo
Inscribed with title lower right: "Ull."
Estimate
NOK 70,000–90,000USD 7,300–9,400EUR 6,600–8,500
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Peter Nicolai Arbo is regarded as one of Norway’s foremost history-painters of the Düsseldorf School. His artistic output was devoted largely to dramatic depictions of Norwegian history and Norse mythology, best exemplified by monumental works such as Valkyrie (1864) and The Wild Hunt of Åsgård (1872), both in the collection of the Norwegian National Museum.
Alongside his major commissions, Arbo produced a number of smaller oil studies, sketches and variations in his studio. These works are often characterised by a more immediate handling of the brush, yet retain the artist’s rigorous commitment to academic anatomy and dramatic lighting.
The present painting, titled Ull, is a characteristic example of Arbo’s mythological subject matter. Ull is one of the Æsir, the gods of Norse mythology. He is the son of Sif and the stepson of Thor, and is particularly associated with single combat, hunting and skiing.
Literature: Store Norske Leksikon, snl.no
