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Valdemar Atterdag holding Visby to ransom, 1361 is a historical painting (oil on canvas, signed in 1882)
made by the Swedish historical painter Carl Gustaf Hellqvist (1851 – 1890).This painting depicts how
the Danish king Valdemar IV (a.k.a. Valdemar Atterdag) collects treasures from the people in the Gotlandic
medieval town of Visby in the summer of 1361 AD. If the town's people do not fill the three big beer vats
with gold, silver and other riches, Valdemar will see to that the whole town is burned to the ground. In Swedish
this action is called "brandskattning", but in English there appears to be no corresponding word (?)—the nearest
translation would be "pillage" or "extortion".In this great oil painting, king Valdemar Atterdag sits to the right, on a
redpodium in front of the large St. Catherine's church, and observes the town dwellers as they run to fill the vats.
At the centre of the painting, the "main characters" are seen—i.e. the mayor and his family. The mayor clenches
his fist in wrath and looks at the Danish king, while his wife looks up to the sky, towards God.
Valdemar Atterdag holding Visby to ransom, 1361 is a historical painting (oil on canvas, signed in 1882)
made by the Swedish historical painter Carl Gustaf Hellqvist (1851 – 1890).This painting depicts how
the Danish king Valdemar IV (a.k.a. Valdemar Atterdag) collects treasures from the people in the Gotlandic
medieval town of Visby in the summer of 1361 AD. If the town's people do not fill the three big beer vats
with gold, silver and other riches, Valdemar will see to that the whole town is burned to the ground. In Swedish
this action is called "brandskattning", but in English there appears to be no corresponding word (?)—the nearest
translation would be "pillage" or "extortion".In this great oil painting, king Valdemar Atterdag sits to the right, on a
redpodium in front of the large St. Catherine's church, and observes the town dwellers as they run to fill the vats.
At the centre of the painting, the "main characters" are seen—i.e. the mayor and his family. The mayor clenches
his fist in wrath and looks at the Danish king, while his wife looks up to the sky, towards God.