''Cannibals'' is a 2005 painting by the Norwegian kitsch painter Odd Nerdrum. It depicts three men in a barren landscape, devouring the remains of a fourth man whose spine, rib cage and head lie on the ground before them. The painting was on view at the Paul Booth Gallery in New York City from 20 April to 30 July 2016, as part of the Nerdrum exhibition ''Crime and Refuge''.

Reception

Daniel Maidman Daniel Maidman (born 1975) is a painter and art writer who lives in Brooklyn, New York. His art and writing reflect eclectic tastes, with an emphasis on realism. Early life and education Daniel Maidman was born in Toronto, Canada. He attended h ...

wrote in 2016 for ''Whitehot Magazine'' that "a very un- PC classical iconography of good and evil is deployed here", as the three cannibals are, "to use the appropriate nomenclature", "a cripple, a madman, and a mongoloid". At the same time, the victim's face is depicted with "the serene beauty of a fallen

Siegfried Siegfried is a German-language male given name, composed from the Germanic elements ''sig'' "victory" and ''frithu'' "protection, peace". The German name has the Old Norse cognate ''Sigfriðr, Sigfrøðr'', which gives rise to Swedish ''Sigfrid' ...

, unimpressed by his humiliation, retaining a steadfast, and perhaps ultimately foolish, faith in cosmic justice". Maidman wrote: "It is a scene of squalid and pervasive evil. It is an evil in collusion with a wicked metaphysics, and therefore an evil from which there is no exit save death."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cannibals 2005 paintings Works about cannibalism Paintings by Odd Nerdrum Food and drink paintings Paintings about death