Sigyn holder skålen mellem slangen og Loke 1826 - 1893

H. C. Henneberg created this print, “Sigyn holding the bowl between the serpent and Loke”, sometime in the 19th century. This image depicts a scene from Norse mythology, focusing on themes of punishment, loyalty, and suffering. In the story, the god Loki is punished for his misdeeds by being bound beneath a serpent that drips poison onto him. His faithful wife, Sigyn, holds a bowl to catch the venom, but when she has to empty it, the poison falls on Loki, causing him to writhe in agony and creating earthquakes. Made in Denmark, this print comes from a period when national romanticism was on the rise and there was an increasing interest in Norse mythology as a source of national identity and cultural pride. Henneberg was associated with the Danish Golden Age, when artists turned to historical and mythological subjects to express national ideals and values. To better understand the image, we can consult literary sources, such as the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda, and explore its relation to the artistic and intellectual context of 19th-century Denmark.