Midvinterblot

Midvinterblot is a 1915 oil painting by the Swedish artist Carl Larsson, made for the central staircase hall of the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm and measuring 640 by 1360 centimeters. It depicts a Norse legend, drawn from the medieval accounts of Adam of Bremen and Snorri Sturluson, in which the legendary Swedish king Domalde offers himself as a sacrifice to end a famine. Larsson conceived the painting as a somber midwinter counterpart to the triumphant midsummer imagery elsewhere in the same staircase decoration. The museum's board initially rejected the work over its subject matter and historical accuracy, and it became, by its later reputation, one of Sweden's most argued-over paintings; after decades in storage and on travelling exhibition, it was finally installed in its intended location in 1997 following a shift in public opinion after a 1992 exhibition. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/