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The Cormorant |
Kittelsen in Lofoten
Like most of his fellow 19th-century Norwegian artists, the painter Theodor Kittelsen (1857-1914) sought inspiration and training in central Europe. There Munich and Paris were art metropolises. Kittelsen, however, longed for the simple life, and, in 1887, he left central Europe behind to return to Norway. He then lived with his sister and brother-in-law, at Skomvær Lighthouse, in Lofoten, for two years. A greater contrast can hardly be imagined! Kittelsen lived and worked on this tiny island for two whole years. 
He was very active as an artist during these two years, and among his accomplishments were
two books known as Fra Lofoten (From Lofoten) - with his own texts and drawings. Both of these volumes are linked by their lyrical qualities. Christian Khrog, another renown artist who visited Lofoten, says of these books:
"Lofoten is what suddenly has made Kittelsen into the poet and great artist that he is. There his vision is universal, unpretentious and explicit."
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© University Library of Tromsø - 1999.
The Northern Lights Route is part of The Council of Europe Cultural Routes. The Cultural Routes are an invitation to Europeans to wander the paths and explore the places where the unity and diversity of our European identity were forged.
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