Theodor Kittelsen
Theodor Severin Kittelsen (1857 to 1914) was a Norwegian draughtsman, painter, illustrator and author, born in Kragerø and deceased on Jeløy. His images helped shape enduring ideas of trolls and water sprites in Norwegian folklore. His work also includes landscapes, satire, animal subjects and illustrations accompanying his own writing.
From drawing studies to fairy tales
Kittelsen received drawing tuition in Kristiania from 1874 and studied at the Munich academy from 1876. Stays in Lofoten and later Sigdal provided new landscapes. He illustrated Asbjørnsen and Moe’s tales alongside artists including Erik Werenskiold. Pen drawing and the relationship between light and dark were important to his visual language.
In Ekko, a face emerges within a mountain. Telemark Museum associates the early development of the subject with Valbergheia near Kragerø. It demonstrates how natural forms could suggest living beings. Mountains, roots and woods become part of the figure, making the landscape itself a source of animation and fantasy.
Works, materials and versions
The National Museum’s Nøkken, dated approximately 1887, combines pen, pencil and wash on paper. It appeared in Kittelsen’s own book Troldskab in 1892. Eyes and ripples animate a creature resembling a root. He subsequently revisited the subject, so a title alone does not identify a particular original work.
Svartedauen, published in 1900, combines his own texts with drawings of the devastation caused by plague. The series employs pen, brush, pencil and black drawing medium. Pesta farer landet rundt from 1904 is another familiar treatment of the plague theme. A book’s publication date must be distinguished from the dates of individual artworks.
The Kittelsen Museum at Blaafarveværket demonstrates his range through drawings, oil paintings and woodcarvings. It documents works including Bergtrold from 1905 and the twelve subjects of Tirelil Tove. Humour and an inventive approach to making objects are therefore part of his artistic identity, alongside darker, supernatural imagery.
Identifying a Kittelsen object
An original work on paper, an illustration printed in a book and a later reproduction are different kinds of object. Record the medium, paper, dimensions, inscriptions and, for book illustrations, the edition. A signature reproduced within the image is different from one signed by hand. Comparing images may identify a subject or version, but cannot by itself establish authorship of an individual object.
For works on paper, discolouration, tears, moisture damage, trimming and earlier mounting are relevant to condition. Old receipts, exhibition labels and a documented ownership history can provide useful evidence. Photographs of the reverse and the complete sheet are helpful where these can be obtained without risking damage to the work or its framing.
Read more about artist signatures, provenance and ownership history.
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Sources and further reading
Store norske leksikon, Norsk kunstnerleksikon, Telemark Museum, National Museum: Nøkken, Norsk biografisk leksikon and Blaafarveværket: Kittelsen Museum.
