In Old Norse mythology the Valkyries were female beings who determined which warriors would die on the battlefield. The Valkyries then carried the dead warriors from the battlefield to the world of the gods, to Odin’s Valhall or Freyja’s Folkvangr. The Norwegian painter Arbo was one of the 19th century artists who devoted himself to painting subjects from Old Norse mythology. Trained as a painter at the academy in Düsseldorf, one of the most important art centres at the time.