Olav Trygvason and Sigrid Storråda 

Curator: Let's take a moment to discuss Mårten Eskil Winge's painting, "Olav Trygvason and Sigrid Storråda". The scene, rendered in oil, depicts a fraught historical encounter. Editor: My gut reaction? It feels like the moment right before a dramatic storm breaks loose. All that muted color, then the sharp jut of her finger—someone's about to have a really bad day. Curator: Exactly! The staging emphasizes power dynamics. We have Olav, in his armor, signifying both his authority and, I would argue, the tools of his trade as it relates to imposing that authority on others, quite literally the raw materials from which authority springs. Contrast that with Sigrid, regally draped and positioned higher on the chair, marking her claim of dominion and ownership. The social context here is crucial: a proposed marriage with very high political and material stakes, a clashing of pagan and Christian faiths. Editor: I’m sensing she's not exactly swooning. There's a certain… stiffness in her posture that suggests resistance, maybe even contempt. He almost seems to be caught in two minds, clutching that emerald cloth—like he knows what's coming. Perhaps a moment of conflict where a future for both depends on the resolution. And let's just say, those expressions? Not exactly filled with hearts and rainbows, I imagine a difficult relationship regardless of this meeting. Curator: The materiality echoes your read. The cool palette and heavy application of oil paint suggest an environment ripe for disagreement, not compromise. You notice the small table to the right—a table implying a setting, perhaps a function in ceremony, yet devoid of specific items. An absent of anything is a message in itself here. We understand that nothing exists for compromise on that table, perhaps nothing to aid the discussion in the frame. It underlines, rather physically, a power play at its height. Editor: I am feeling that message quite acutely. A negotiation for a position of power that has gone awry, each holding out for their version of reality that cannot work for them both. Makes me wonder what was happening when the painting was made, and how Winge related to these themes... food for thought. Curator: A good note to end on; it’s important to understand the context surrounding the artwork, and by association the artists.