The Wild Hunt of Odin
Peter Nicolai Arbo, 1872Fine art reproduction on 200gsm matte paper. A5 to A1, plus 12x16, 18x24 and 24x36 inches.Out of the storm they come, black horses and shrieking riders, with ravens at their heels. In old Norway you barred the door and stayed inside.
Peter Nicolai Arbo painted The Wild Hunt of Odin in Paris in 1872. In Norwegian folklore the Wild Hunt, Åsgårdsreien, was a host of ghosts and restless dead who rode through the sky in the dark days around Christmas. Anyone caught outside could be swept away, so people hung a piece of steel over the door. Arbo shows the hunt pouring across the clouds, swords raised, led by a helmeted rider who may be Odin himself.
Look closely at the lower left. A pale moon sits low on the hill, and Odin's ravens fly ahead of the horde. Arbo drew on a poem by Johan Sebastian Welhaven. The National Gallery of Norway bought the painting the year it was finished, and it hangs today in the Nasjonalmuseet in Oslo. In 1988 the Swedish band Bathory put it on the cover of their album Blood Fire Death.
The look
Storm black, moss green and a burst of amber light through the clouds. Wild, eerie and full of noise. Norse mythology wall art for a study, a hallway or a home library, and gothic wall art for long winter nights.
Sizes
| Size | Centimetres | Inches |
|---|---|---|
| A5 | 14.8 x 21 cm | 5.8 x 8.3 in |
| A4 | 21 x 29.7 cm | 8.3 x 11.7 in |
| A3 | 29.7 x 42 cm | 11.7 x 16.5 in |
| A2 | 42 x 59.4 cm | 16.5 x 23.4 in |
| A1 | 59.4 x 84.1 cm | 23.4 x 33.1 in |
| 12 x 16 in | 30.5 x 40.6 cm | 12 x 16 in |
| 18 x 24 in | 45.7 x 61 cm | 18 x 24 in |
| 24 x 36 in | 61 x 91.4 cm | 24 x 36 in |
Custom sizes on request. Inch sizes have a slightly different shape from A sizes, so the edges trim a little. Size guide
Frames and delivery
Choose a black, white or oak frame, or order the print unframed. It is printed locally in the UK, Europe, the US, Canada or Australia, at the location closest to you. Free tracked shipping, no customs fees. Printing and delivery
Gifting
A dramatic gift for a birthday, a housewarming or the winter solstice. A saga for the darkest nights of the year.
More like this
More Peter Nicolai Arbo in our Dark Romanticism Art collection: The Valkyrie. For another Norse hero, see Siegfried's Rhine Journey by Ferdinand Leeke.
