Loki (1765 CE)

The illustration of Loki of the Melsteðs-Edda, an eighteenth-century Icelandic manuscript, is one of the most vivid and memorable visualizations of the Norse trickster god. Now preserved at the Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies in Reykjavík, it presents Loki in his mythological role as a fugitive of dangerous wit, combining medievalizing imagery with the direct, expressive character of Icelandic folk art. Shown with his net, Loki appears at once theatrical and elusive, a fitting image of one of Norse mythology’s most unstable and fascinating figures.

In Iceland in 1765

Created in 1765, the illustration forms part of the Melsteðs-Edda, a manuscript produced by Jakob Sigurðsson (ca. 1710–1779), a self-taught farmer and artist from Breiðumýri in Selárdal in northern Iceland. Working in difficult economic conditions, Jakob created the drawing as part of a larger manuscript copy of Snorri Sturluson’s Prose Edda. The work was likely commissioned by the priest Ólafur Brynjólfsson (1713–1765), who died before the manuscript was completed. The volume later passed into the hands of the Melsted family and was eventually donated to the Árni Magnússon Institute in the twentieth century. Made during the period of Danish rule in Iceland, the illustration belongs to a broader cultural effort to preserve Norse myth through text and image in a time of hardship and isolation.

A Trickster Drawn with Limited Means

One of the most compelling aspects of the image is its lively yet slightly whimsical portrayal of Loki, whose exaggerated features and sharp expression capture both cunning and theatricality. The fact that Jakob Sigurðsson was an impoverished and largely self-taught artist makes the work all the more remarkable. With modest materials, handmade paper and simple colored inks, he produced an image of lasting force and personality. Its continued popularity in modern retellings of Norse myth shows how powerfully this small drawing has shaped the visual imagination of Loki.

Loki as Fugitive

The illustration holds particular cultural value because it visualizes a precise episode from Norse mythology, drawn from the Gylfaginning section of the Prose Edda. It shows Loki at the moment when he tries to escape the pursuing Æsir gods, having transformed himself into a salmon and hidden in the waterfall at Franangr. The accompanying text in eighteenth-century Icelandic reads: “Þetta er Loki Laufeyjarson með netið sitt, þa er Aesir sóttu eftir honum,” meaning, “This is Loki, son of Laufey, with his net, when the Aesir pursued him.” The scene captures both his ingenuity and his downfall, since the fishing net he devises becomes the very means by which the gods catch him. In this way, the image reflects one of the central tensions of Loki’s character: he is at once ingenious, comic, dangerous, and doomed. Artistically, the drawing stands between older manuscript traditions and Icelandic folk style, preserving myth through a mode that is simple in means but rich in expression.

Ink, Color, and Folk Vitality

The illustration is drawn on handmade paper measuring approximately 13.5 × 16.5 cm, or 5.3 × 6.5 inches, within the quarto format of the Melsteðs-Edda. It is executed in ink with colored washes of red, yellow, brown, and black, creating a vivid, almost watercolor-like effect. Loki appears as an older man with long wavy blond hair, a full beard, and large expressive eyes. He wears a red cap resembling a jester’s hat, an orange-brown cloak with yellow sleeves, and red tights. In one hand he holds a fishing net, and in the other a staff or rod. The accompanying text is written in Gothic blackletter, in keeping with the manuscript’s overall style. The result is a figure that feels at once folk-like, dramatic, and unmistakably alive.

From Manuscript to Institute Collection

As part of the Melsteðs-Edda, the illustration was created by Jakob Sigurðsson for Ólafur Brynjólfsson. After Ólafur’s death in 1765, the manuscript passed to the Melsted family, known for their literary interests. In the twentieth century, it was donated to the Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies in Reykjavík, where it remains preserved today.