"The Last Viking" by Leon Goodman (now sold 17/8/10)

£550.00

BEAUTIFUL ORIGINAL OIL PAINTING ON CANVAS "The Last Viking".  This incredible painting, one of Goodman's best, capturing the funeral of the last of the great Vikings Harald Hardrada or King Harald Sigurdsson III of Norway.

 Here the King begins his journey to the afterlife and Valhalla as his loyal warriors and his son Olaf, with the bearskin, mourn his loss. Born in the year 1015, Harald was the younger brother of King Olaf and third in line for the Norwegian throne. However, in 1030, King Cnut of Denmark (and later England and Norway) invaded and killed Olaf in battle. Harald was wounded in the same battle, but managed to flee the country with a group of loyal warriors Harald and his warriors journeyed to the land of the Rus (later Russia) and took service with the king Yaroslav, where they stayed for several years fighting in many battles. Harald became restless though, and packed up his men and set out for Constantinople and the wealthiest city in the known world. There, Harald and his men joined the Varangian Guard, an elite mercenary unit. Again Harald proved himself a great warrior and leader of men, and soon took command of the entire unit. In this position, he was given broad powers to plan his own attacks, and he won many victories for the Empire. He also amassed a huge amount of personal wealth. For twenty years, Harald ruled Norway, picking up the nickname Hardrada, meaning hard-ruler. But Harald could not sit easy on a throne; he craved the adventure of his Viking ancestors. In 1066, Tostig Godwinson approached him about staking his claim to the English throne. (Harald did have a vague claim through his Nephew.) Harald agreed and, gathering his army, set out for England. In September 1066, Harald landed in Northern England with a force of around 15,000 men  and 300 longships. Earl Tostig was with him. At the Battle of Fulford, two miles south of York, on 20 September, he won a great victory against the first English forces he met. Believing that King Harold was prepared to surrender and the English to accept his claim to the throne, Harald took about two thirds of his army to collect tribute from the local people, carrying light weapons and wearing only light armour, and left the rest at the ships. However, Harold Godwinson  was not prepared to give up his throne. At the battle of Stamford Bridge, outside York, on 25 September 1066, Godwinson's forces surprised Harald's as they collected the tribute from the locals. Godwinson's forces were heavily armed and armoured, and greatly outnumbered Harald's. Although one of Harald's men single-handedly blocked the English from the bridge for some time and was reported to have killed at least 40 Saxons, he fell after an Englishman sneaked under the bridge and stabbed upwards; King Harold's forces then easily broke through and both Harald and Earl Tostig were killed. Harald's army was so heavily beaten that only 24 of the 300 longboats used to transport his forces to England were used to carry the survivors back to Norway. Harold Godwinson's victory was short lived, however, as only a few weeks later he was defeated by William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings.  The fact that Harold had to make a forced march to fight Hardrada at Stamford Bridge and then move at utmost speed south to meet the Norman invasion, all in less than three weeks, is widely seen as a primary factor in William's hard-fought victory at Hastings. Harald was the last great Viking king of Norway and his invasion of England and death at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 proved a true watershed moment. It marked the end of the Viking age and beginning of the High middle ages. The irony was although Harald's Viking invasion failed he helped his Norwegian Viking cousins the Normans to beat the Saxons 3 weeks later at Hastings to take England!!!!

......BY THE SUPERB LEON GOODMAN WHO IS AN ACCOMPLISHED ARTIST HAVING BEEN A FINALIST AT THE GARRICK-MILNE PRIZE. HE HAS MANY OF HIS WORKS SOLD AT CHRISTIES. Measurements height 20 inches by 16 inches Oil on Canvas .............Box Framed

                                    Wikipedia leon goodman                               leon-goodman.com                                        


GUARANTEED TO BE 100% ORIGINAL AND GENUINE WITH C.O.A. Leon Goodman has been a professional artist for the majority of his working life. His work has been sold at The Omell Gallery, Ascot, as well as Christies, the fine art auction house in London. Many of his works have sold to the U.S for thousands of pounds. (Please check out www.leon-goodman.com ) Since seeing his work, Risborough Art Gallery have made him a regularly featured artist. Leon’s philosophy is that it is not the delineation of the subject which is important, but its fragmentation. He believes a strictly photographic image does not allow the viewer to participate in the painting. If the image is fragmented, the viewer can imagine for himself the missing parts and involve himself in the creation of the whole image. The viewer has seen his own interpretation of the fragmented images; the next viewer may see something different.100% GOLD POWERSELLER.