Return of the Sun

Return of the Sun (Norwegian: Solen vender tilbake) is a 1986 painting by the Norwegian artist Odd Nerdrum. It depicts three young women, two of whom are twins, on a ledge surrounded by peculiar cloud formations. The women's mouths are open as they reach out toward a light source outside of the picture's frame. Their eyes are wide open but completely blank.

Return of the Sun
ArtistOdd Nerdrum
Year1986
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions106 cm × 157 cm (42 in × 62 in)
LocationPrivate collection

Reception

The art historian Jan Åke Pettersson interpreted the painting as optimistic, seeing it as an expression of renewed vitality after the fall of modern civilization. Jan-Erik Ebbestad Hansen, a Norwegian professor of the history of ideas, also interpreted the painting's sun as a symbol for life and a new beginning. Barbara Vetland on the other hand, in her art history master's thesis, interpreted the painting as pessimistic, citing the overall atmosphere, the colour scheme, the abyss in front of the women, and the fact that they are blind and thus cannot actually see the light. "Therefore it is warranted to ask which sun Nerdrum has depicted", Vetland wrote, "Is it the life-giving, or the destructive? For Icarus' hubris, to move too close to the sun was imposed with punishment and downfall."[1]

Legacy

With the artist's permission, the painting was used as cover art for the black metal band Solefald's 1997 album The Linear Scaffold.[2] It also appears on the cover of Corey Marks' 2000 poetry collection Renunciation.[3]

References
  1. Vetland, Barbara (2010). Den tidløse omsorgen: Mor og barn motivet i Odd Nerdrums maleri (PDF) (in Norwegian). University of Oslo. pp. 35–36. Derfor er det på sin plass å spørre om hvilken sol Nerdrum har fremstilt. Er det den livgivende, eller den destruktive? For Ikaros’ hybris, var det å komme for nær solen, belemret med straff og undergang.
  2. Fermariello, Ugo (1997-08-12). "Nerdrum-heavy". Dagbladet (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2016-08-21.
  3. Marks, Corey (2000). Renunciation: Poems. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-252-06898-X.
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