Ansgar forkynder kristendommen 1865

Johan Frederik Rosenstand created this print titled, *Ansgar forkynder kristendommen*, which translates to *Ansgar Preaching Christianity*, sometime in the 19th century. Rosenstand was working in a period when ideas of nationhood and cultural identity were deeply connected to historical narratives and religious conversion. In this small print, we see Ansgar, a 9th-century missionary known as the Apostle of the North, as he proselytizes to the Vikings. Rosenstand imagines Ansgar as the bringer of civility and faith to a group cast as pagan. The Vikings are on their knees, heads bowed, and are seemingly awed into submission, but how might we view this scene today? Seen from our contemporary perspective, this image asks us to consider the complexities of religious conversion, colonialism, and the imposition of cultural values on indigenous populations. Whose story is truly being told and at what cost?