Thor's Fight with the Giants (Swedish: Tors strid med jättarna) is an 1872 painting by the Swedish artist Mårten Eskil Winge.
It depicts the Norse god Thor in a battle against the jötunn. Thor rides his chariot pulled by the goats Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr ("teeth-barrer and teeth-grinder"), wears his belt Megingjörð and swings his hammer Mjölnir.
The painting was made using oil on canvas and belongs to Nationalmuseum in Stockholm.
Thor's Fight with the Giants provides examples of:
- Adaptation Dye-Job: In the myths, Thor is stated to have red hair and a beard. Here, he's blond.
- Allegory: Thor's battle against the giants, who are embodiments of depravity, is a mass-smiting of the evil that blights the world.
- Always Chaotic Evil: The giants that Thor is fighting —the Ettins— are commonly seen as allegorical for general wickedness.
- Chariot Pulled by Cats: As how Norse Mythology portrays him, Thor is seen riding his chariot pulled by the goats Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr ("teeth-barer" and "teeth-grinder").
- Elemental Motifs: Lighting can be seen leaping from Mjölnir, solidifying the fact that this is the God of Thunder doing the smashing.
- Protagonist Title: The central figure of the painting is Thor.
- Red Is Heroic: Thor, who is metaphorically ridding the world of evil, is wearing a red robe.
- Sadly Mythtaken: The fact that the explicitly bearded red-head Viking thunder-god is portrayed as clean-shaven and towheaded like Prince Charming probably didn't help dissuade the Master Race proponents that interpret it as proto-Fascist/Nationalist propaganda. It might also have inspired the Marvel Comic.
- Thunder Hammer: Like in the myths, Thor is battling the giants with his Mjölnir hammer.
