Theodor Kittelsen

Theodor Severin Kittelsen was born on April 27, 1857, in the coastal town of Kragerø. Showing early artistic aptitude, he trained at the Royal Drawing School in Christiania and the Munich Academy of Arts, developing an intensely atmospheric, fantastical nature aesthetic.

Kittelsen's illustrations for Asbjørnsen and Moe's folk tales defined how generations of Norwegians imagine trolls, forest sprites, and the ominous water spirit Nøkken lurking beneath water lilies. His masterpiece series Svartedauen (The Black Death, 1896) portrayed the 1349 plague as a terrifying old crone named Pesta carrying a rake and broom. He lived and worked at his beloved home Lauvlia in Sigdal, surrounded by the enchanted mountain forests he painted.