Heimdall
Heimdall
Max Baitinger
Rotopol
In Norse mythology, Heimdall is the guardian among the gods. He is not particularly brave, at least not as brave as his powerful brother Thor or his father, the all-knowing creator god Odin. But Heimdall has a gift: he sees everything, even his own eyebrows. That’s why it is his job to be vigilant. Day and night, he sits watching on the roof of Valhalla while everything goes its regular course: every day the warriors train in battle, every evening their wounds are healed and they can carouse together – Valhalla is a true warrior’s paradise. But soon they will join the gods in the final battle. When the great wolf eats the sun and thus ushers in Ragnarok, the end of the world, Heimdall will have to warn them all in time with his big horn. His eyes fixed on the sun, he waits and wanders off with his thoughts.
In striking black-and-white drawings, Max Baitinger takes up motifs and forms of the old Icelandic gods’ songs. Seen through the eyes of the brooding god Heimdall, the saga of the downfall of the world becomes a relatable and comical tale of human fears and doubts.