This painting is a national icon in Norway!

Skiing Birchlegs Crossing the Mountain with the Royal Child by Knud Berglien shows two heroic rebels saving the Norwegian Prince Haakon IV which would lead to the end of the Norwegian civil war in 1240.

 This painting is a national icon in Norway! Skiing

A quick moment of affection in their secret romance.

Hellelil and Hildebrand, the Meeting on the Turret Stairs (1864) was painted by Frederic William Burton

The subject of this painting comes from a medieval Danish ballad about Hellelil, who fell in love with Hildebrand, a knight who served as her personal guard. But as often happened in these stories, the father of Hellelil did not approve of their relationship and asked his seven sons to kill the prince.

It is a tragedy. Hildebrand will kill six of the seven brothers and the father of Hellelil, until she intervenes to save her last sibling. Hildebrand will not survive his wounds and Hellelil decides that she cannot live without him.

Unlike many famous artists, Burton (1816-1900) never painted in oils as he could not stand the smell of it. So, he primarily used watercolor paint, something that you can clearly see in the effects in the background of this painting.

 A quick moment of affection in their secret romance

Queen Bianca (1877) was painted by the Finnish artist Albert Edelfelt (1854-1905).

It shows a historical scene about the Swedish medieval Queen Bianca and it's based on a story written by the Finnish author Zachris Topelius (1818-1898). And just for clarity, Finland was part of Sweden at the time of Queen Bianca.

Queen Bianca is bouncing her son Haakon on her knee while singing to him. Bianca had already arranged a marriage for her son. He would marry Princess Margareta of Denmark when he was old enough, which would lead to the union between Denmark and Sweden. And the queen is singing about these plans to her son, clearly convinced that she had done the right thing for her son.

 The love between mother and son. Queen Bianca (1877) was

Sleeping Beauty was painted by the French artist Victor Gabriel Gilbert (1847-1933).

The portrait seems to be inspired by the classic fairy tale with the same title about a princess who is cursed to sleep for a hundred years by an evil fairy. She is waiting for a handsome prince to wake her up with a kiss.

Gilbert has created a beautiful portrait of her, in the middle of her peaceful sleep. And you can clearly see the different types of brush strokes he used, rough and visible ones for the background, and fine ones for the sleeping beauty.

 Waiting for the prince. Sleeping Beauty was painted by the

A stunning interpretation of The Sleeping Beauty, painted by John Collier (1850-1934) in 1921.

Most of us have grown up with some version of this story. The princess is cursed to sleep for a hundred years. But through the overgrown wood in the background, the prince will come and bring everything back to life.

 A stunning interpretation of The Sleeping Beauty, painted

A Little Prince Likely in Time to Bless a Royal Throne (1904) by Edmund Leighton (1853-1922) was inspired by the second part of Henry VI, a historical play by Shakespeare about the  struggle for power between the competing dynasties of Lancaster and York

This scene shows Henry's mother, Margaret Beaufort, holding her son (future King Henry VII). The prince stands straight and confidently looks at the crowd, which is separated from him by a line of guards holding pennants.

The painting shows the following passage from Shakespeare:

His head by nature framed to wear a crown

In 2002, the painting was sold for almost $600,000.

 I present you the future king! A Little Prince Likely in

What is going on in A Favor (1898) by Edmund Leighton?

Is this a goodbye of the man of the horse, who is about to receive his last flower before leaving?

The works by Leighton are always a bit mysterious, but fun to look at.