Solar Eclipse

In many ways, Bengt Nordenberg’s painting lives up to the expectations on Romantic artists, with Caspar David Friedrich as the typical example – with the averted figures and the spectacular lighting. However, while Friedrich set his scenes in anonymous places in a timeless ideal world, Nordenberg’s painting relates to a specific event. On 28 July, 1851, a solar eclipse took place that could be seen throughout most of northern Europe.