This painting shows a test explosion of Immanuel Nobel's naval mines around 1842. Nobel probably painted it in the 1860s, when he moved back to Sweden after living in Russia for nearly 20 years. The painting shows Nobel himself with a Russian statesman, presumably grand duke Michael Pavlovich, the younger brother of Tsar Nikolai II.
Naval mines were a great success for Nobel. The tsar gave him an enormous reward, and his industry flourished.
The painting was acquired by the Nobel Prize Museum in 2003.
