Sunday, April 19, 2009

Leif Eriksson

Leif Eriksson Sights Land in America (1893) by the Norwegian painter Christian Krohg (1852-1925). This is one of the grat national icons. It depicts how the Viking Leif Eriksson discovered America.

Because that adventurer could be claimed as a Norwegian it's not surprising that the painting still got his place in the National Gallery in Oslo.

Even better, later the U.S.Senate bought a copy by Per Krohg, the son of the artist. This could be seen in the United States Capitol building in Washington.

I like the painting because Krohg painted Leif Eriksson as a sailor an not as a Wagnerian Viking with a horned helmet, like so many did.

1 comment:

  1. The painting above (or the copy by son Per) was a gift to the US Congress from the Norwegian Friends of America.

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