Christmas troll 1907

Theodor Severin Kittelsen painted this watercolour, titled 'Christmas Troll', in 1907. Here we see a horse and man hauling a sled through deep snow, perhaps bringing home a Christmas tree. But there are other details in the image, which speak to a far wider cultural context. Kittelsen was Norwegian, and his art often drew on Norwegian folklore. Here, he seems to be alluding to traditional stories of trolls, supernatural beings who inhabited the forests and mountains. Notice the strange shapes in the sled: are they logs or trolls? The picture plays with the boundary between reality and fantasy, between the everyday work of rural life and the magical realm of the imagination. Kittelsen made the image at a time when Norway was asserting its cultural independence from Denmark and Sweden. His art contributed to a sense of national identity rooted in a romantic vision of nature and folklore. If you want to understand the cultural and political nuances of the image, go to the library and read more about the cultural history of early 20th century Norway.