Holmgang by Teddy Hansen

Mixed media on canvas. 
2024 

This painting is part of FATHERLAND, an exhibition by Teddy Hansen.

Maybe Danish people are happy because they know how to resolve conflict?

Holmgang is a duel practised by early medieval Scandinavians to settle disputes legally. Anyone offended could challenge the other party to a holmgang, regardless of their differences in social status. Nowadays, we don’t want people duelling, but the main idea is that everyone has equal chances, something which the Danes still value today.

The painting shows two men in a holmgang. One is naked, suggesting he is of poorer wealth, while the other man wears fine garments and boots. The poor man has decapitated the wealthy man, and a butterfly of blood appears as his head flies through the air.

Holmgang would take place on a stretched-out cowhide, which you can see in the back of the painting, with a flag raised on the end of its tail to signify the end of the fight. A halved apple in the centre represents the participants’ equal chances, and a split worm, which is famously capable of regenerating, foreshadows an eventual return to peace.