Bokskap Frontispis 

Theodor Kittelsen created this woodcut frontispiece for a bookcase, showing gnomes or trolls, around the turn of the 20th century in Norway. The artist created imagery associated with Norwegian folklore and fairytales, often with nationalist intent. Kittelsen, along with other artists, found inspiration in the unique landscapes, traditions, and mythologies of Norway, at a time when Norway sought to establish its cultural identity. The angular and deliberately crude style of the woodcut here, suggests a rough, unsophisticated, and pre-industrial folk culture which Kittelsen and his contemporaries contrasted with cosmopolitan European culture. Here, folkloric characters seem to have been placed on a pediment in the style of classical architecture, perhaps as a comment on the status of folk culture in contemporary Norway. Is Kittelsen suggesting that Norwegian culture is as important as classical culture? Historians try to understand the role that art plays in the formation of national identity, using sources such as political pamphlets, literary texts, and folklore archives. Art like this invites us to consider how social and political contexts shape artistic expression.