Idun and Brage

Nils Jakob Blommér's best known works are based on Norse mythology and folklore. This painting depicts two Nordic gods with their attributes. Idun is the goddess of spring or rejuvenation among the Norse gods. She is always equipped with apples, which give the gods eternal youth. Her husband Brage is the god of poetry, eloquence and the patron of skalds. Brage had runes carved into his tongue and is the artists' favorite god, he empties the mead horn in Valhall and skaldar. He is represented as an elderly man, with long white hair and beard, and holding the golden harp from which his fingers could draw such magic strains.