Trolls Fighting

Theodor Kittelsen prints bring Norway's fairy tales to life, from hulking forest trolls and the water sprite Nøkken to the golden Soria Moria Palace. Kittelsen is the artist many Norwegians credit with deciding what a troll really looks like. Our collection of fine art prints covers his fairy-tale pictures, the dark Black Death series, his drawings of animals and birds, and the lakes and mountains he loved.

About Theodor Kittelsen

Theodor Severin Kittelsen was born in the coastal town of Kragerø on 27 April 1857. His father died young, and at 11 he was apprenticed to a watchmaker. At 17 his talent was spotted by Diderich Maria Aall, who paid for drawing school in Christiania (now Oslo) and later study in Munich. When that support ended in 1879, Kittelsen drew for German newspapers and magazines.

After a spell in Paris he returned to Norway for good in 1887 and spent two years in Lofoten, living at Skomvær Lighthouse. From 1881 he worked with the folklorist Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and the painter Erik Werenskiold on the Norwegian folktales, a partnership that ran until 1910.

In 1899 he built Lauvlia, a home and studio in Sigdal with a view of Lake Soneren and Mount Andersnatten. His ten years there were his most productive, giving rise to the Soria Moria Palace series of 1900. Failing health forced him to sell Lauvlia in 1910, and he died on Jeløya on 21 January 1914.

Style and Subjects

Kittelsen's trolls are grotesque and strangely beautiful, and they grow out of real Norwegian landscapes: a mountain becomes a troll's head, a mossy rock a sleeping giant. Where Werenskiold drew country life faithfully, Kittelsen loved exaggeration, humour and the uncanny. His style mixes Neo-Romantic feeling with a naive, storybook directness.

He was also a writer, and he often added his own texts to his pictures. Many of his best-known works are in colour pencil, watercolour and pastel, with soft evening light over still lakes, while the Black Death drawings are stark black and white.

Famous Works

• Soria Moria Palace (1900), National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Oslo. The Ash Lad gazes across the hills at a palace shining like gold.
• The Princess Picking Lice from the Troll (1900), National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Oslo. A comic fairy-tale scene of a princess grooming a sleeping troll.
• The Ash Lad and the Troll (1900), National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Oslo. The folk hero faces a giant troll, from the Soria Moria years.
• Nøkken (The Water Sprite) (1893), National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Oslo. The water spirit rising from a dark tarn, from the Jomfruland series.
• The Black Death (Svartedauen) (1894–1900). Kittelsen's book of poems and drawings in which the plague walks Norway as the old woman Pesta.
• Pesta Leaves (1894–1900). Pesta setting off across the land, from the Black Death series.
• White Bear King Valemon. The great white bear of the folktale carrying the girl on his back.

Decorating with Kittelsen Prints

Kittelsen's trolls and fairy-tale scenes are a natural fit for a child's room or playroom, and they also make a playful talking point in a hallway or cabin. The Soria Moria pictures, with their glowing distances and twilight colours, suit a living room or bedroom where you want calm.

The Black Death drawings are darker and more dramatic, better for a study, library or a moody, dark-painted wall. Pair any of them with natural wood, wool and stone for a Nordic cabin feel, and choose simple oak or black frames.

FAQ

Who was Theodor Kittelsen?

Theodor Kittelsen (1857–1914) was a Norwegian painter, draughtsman and illustrator. He is best known for his trolls and his pictures for Asbjørnsen and Moe's Norwegian folktales.

What is Kittelsen's most famous painting?

The Soria Moria Palace series of 1900, showing the Ash Lad looking towards a golden palace, is among his best-loved works. His trolls and the water sprite Nøkken are just as well known.

What is Svartedauen?

The Black Death, a book of 45 drawings and 15 poems Kittelsen made in 1894–1896 and published in 1900. In it the plague travels through Norway as an old woman called Pesta.

Where can I see Kittelsen's work?

The National Museum in Oslo holds the Soria Moria and Jomfruland pictures. His home Lauvlia in Sigdal and the Theodor Kittelsen Museum at Blaafarveværket show his originals, and his childhood home in Kragerø is also a museum.

Why is Kittelsen famous for trolls?

His troll pictures for the folktales were so vivid that many Norwegians feel he settled once and for all what a troll looks like. His trolls often grow out of real mountains, forests and rocks.

Related Artists

• Erik Werenskiold: his partner on the illustrated Norwegian folktales
• Christian Skredsvig: painter friend whose home drew the Kittelsens to Eggedal
• John Bauer: Swedish painter of trolls and forest fairy tales
• Hans Gude: leading Norwegian landscape painter of the generation before
• Edvard Munch: Norway's other great artist of the period