Artwork

Poseidon Rushing over the Sea Surrounded by Nereids and Tritons

Edvard Weie , 1917

Poseidon Rushing over the Sea Surrounded by Nereids and Tritons is an oil painting by the Symbolist artist Edvard Weie. It dates from 1917 and is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst.

About this work

Overview

Edvard Weie’s 1917 oil painting, Poseidon Rushing over the Sea Surrounded by Nereids and Tritons, presents a tumultuous marine tableau. The canvas is dominated by dark blues and greens, punctuated by brief flashes of yellow and white, creating a sense of movement and turbulence that evokes the mythic power of the sea god.

Subject & Meaning

The work depicts the Greek deity Poseidon at the center of a chaotic sea, encircled by attendant Nereids and Tritons. The intertwining figures, rendered in indistinct forms, suggest the merging of divine presence with the untamed forces of water, emphasizing the mythic relationship between humanity and the ocean’s capricious nature.

Technique & Style

Weie employs a thick impasto application, building up the paint to give the surface a tactile, almost sculptural quality. This heavy layering, combined with blurred outlines, contributes to a sense of swirling motion and obscured detail, aligning the piece with Symbolist tendencies toward evoking emotion rather than precise representation.

History & Provenance

The painting entered the collection of Denmark’s Statens Museum for Kunst, where it remains on view. Weie, a Danish modernist, was awarded the prestigious Eckersberg Medal in 1925, and he continued to work until his death in Frederiksberg in 1943.

Context

Created during World War I, the work reflects a period when Symbolist artists often turned to mythological subjects to explore deeper psychological and existential themes. Weie’s choice of Poseidon and his retinue mirrors contemporary concerns about chaos, power, and the unpredictable forces shaping the world.

Poseidon Rushing over the Sea Surrounded by Nereids and Tritons, Unknown

Artist & collection

Artist

Edvard Weie

Viggo Thorvald Edvard Weie (18 November 1879 - 9 April 1943) was a Danish Modernist painter. He was a recipient of Eckersberg Medal in 1925. He died during 1943 in Frederiksberg.