Theodor Kittelsen became known primarily as a draughtsman, and his illustrations for Asbjørnsen and Moe’s folk tales are in a class of their own. Kittelsen often combined his original and imaginative representations of mythical characters from legends and folk tales with depictions of landscapes, and the nature of East Norway and North Norway captured his interest in particular.

Lars Hertervig became known primarily as a landscape painter and devoted himself to the nature of Southwest Norway in particular. Exploring the effects of light on its surroundings and depicting nature under diverse atmospheric conditions seem to be essential themes of Hertervig’s art. Due to periodical bouts of psychological torment he lived fairly isolated from professional art circles, a fact that has contributed to the creation of many myths surrounding both his person and his art.