The Disney Princesses are staging a revolution on the streets of Sweden. 

Portraits of the Disney princesses brandishing guns and have begun appearing on walls around the Swedish capital of Stockholm. 

The paintings garnered global attention after going viral on Facebook, but the true identity of the artist remains unknown.

All of the paintings are signed with the anonymous artist’s alter ego Herr Nilsson, the name of cartoon character Pippi Longstocking’s pet monkey. 

Speaking to Swedish site The Local, the artist said: "Of course there’s a lot of creativity in the toy and entertainment industries for children - but most of the cartoon characters, female in particular, are very stereotyped and predictable. Always so innocent, fair and harmless. The Dark Princesses are a comment on violence, but they are also a comment to how we look upon good and bad in the world. Everybody expects a fairytale princess to always look good and behave well. If I was one of them I would revolt after a couple of days. And in my world they do."

Nilsson said that his choice of moniker was inspired by his young daughter. 

"My daughter has a cuddly toy of Herr Nilsson and he was with us everywhere a couple of years ago.

"He is a harmless character compared to Pippi in the stories, that made me start to think of the revolting monkey, throwing a burning molotov cocktail... with Pippi's ponytail as a fuse." 

"My main intention was to let a harmless creature act very violently," he added.

"Why he did it is up to you as an observer to interpret."

According to The Local, Stockholm has a “Zero Tolerance” policy with regard to street art.