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Artwork

Niels Klim thinks he hears the Deacon when he is awakened by a Bull

Nicolai Abildgaard , 1793

Niels Klim thinks he hears the Deacon when he is awakened by a Bull is an oil painting by the Neoclassicist artist Nicolai Abildgaard. It dates from 1793 and is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst.

About this work

Overview

Nicolai Abildgaard’s 1793 oil on canvas presents a dramatic interior scene in which a man, identified as Niels Klim, lies on the floor while a large brown bull towers above him. A secondary figure on a raised platform observes the situation, holding a book. The composition is rendered in muted browns and beiges, emphasizing tension between the animal and the human subject.

Subject & Meaning

The work captures the moment Klim is awakened, or perhaps threatened, by the bull’s presence, suggesting a sudden, unsettling encounter. The figure above, possibly a deacon, adds a narrative layer, implying a moral or religious commentary on the man’s plight within the confined space.

Technique & Style

Executed in a neoclassical manner, the painting employs clear, controlled drawing and a restrained palette typical of late‑18th‑century Danish academic art. Abildgaard’s handling of light highlights the bull’s mass and the figure’s solemn expression, while the subdued tones unify the interior setting.

History & Provenance

Created by Abildgaard, a professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Art who also contributed to royal palaces such as Christiansborg and Amalienborg, the canvas entered the collection of Denmark’s National Gallery (Statens Museum for Kunst) where it remains on view.

Context

The image draws on literary sources that feature the character Niels Klim, integrating a classical compositional structure with a narrative scene. Abildgaard’s academic background in mythology and anatomy informs the precise rendering of both human and animal forms, reflecting the artist’s broader engagement with Enlightenment ideas.

Niels Klim thinks he hears the Deacon when he is awakened by a Bull, Unknown

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Artist & collection

Artist

Nicolai Abildgaard

Nicolai Abraham Abildgaard (11 September 1743 – 4 June 1809) was a Danish neoclassical and royal history painter, sculptor, architect, and professor of painting, mythology, and anatomy at the New Royal Danish Academy of Art in Copenhagen…