A Valkyrie rides a winged horse, Dream Idyll Tissue Paper

Dream Idyll (A Valkyrie) by Edward Robert Hughes (English, 1851 – 1914). Medium: gouache and pastel on paper. In Norse mythology the Valkyrie, also spelled Walkyrie, served the god Odin and were sent by him to the battlefields to choose and guide to the afterlife the slain warriors who were worthy of a place in Valhalla. In this beautiful painting a Valkyrie rides a winged horse over a large city, presumably London, although Hughes has added mountains in the distance to make for a more dramatic landscape. Valkyries were magically able to ride through the air. This Valkyrie is probably Mist, she whose name means ‘cloud.’