Picturing that which is not

This will be a post about Norwegian fairytales. There will be pictures, but there will be little to no trolls. I’m not that fond of trolls. I am on the other hand fond of fairytale illustrations – and how they deal with the problem of painting the supernatural, that which they have never seen and can only have imagined.

The fairytale illustrations, or sci-fi/fantasy for that matter, seem to work best when they capture a mood, a sense of presence, rather than elaborating details and striving for a realistic look. Maybe because they then allow the viewer to partake in the imagining – to be part of the storytelling process? If a picture is too elaborate, too detailed nothing is left to the imagination. And fairytales, legends, myths - and sci-fi/fantasy – depends greatly on the viewers’ imagination. More so I would say than fiction based in the real world – where references can be anchored in more tangible things than “imagine a hag in a dark, dark wood”.

These pictures generate mood by using nature, and more precisely nearly empty landscapes. When I watch them I feel like a lonely traveller, getting a glimpse of that which is normally hidden. I love these pictures, in the way you love things you have grown up with – a sort of irrational, nostalgic love. Ergo I’d like to share them. This post is also to the sweet alexandral who expressed a wish to see the pictures.

The paintings are all made by Theodor Kittelsen (1851-1914), a Norwegian painter. He spent his whole life illustrating fairytales and legends. His possibly best work was a series of paintings depicting the Black Death. There’s a small post on them here.

( cut for pictures, as this will be very image heavy )

Picturing that which is not

This will be a post about Norwegian fairytales. There will be pictures, but there will be little to no trolls. I’m not that fond of trolls. I am on the other hand fond of fairytale illustrations – and how they deal with the problem of painting the supernatural, that which they have never seen and can only have imagined.

The fairytale illustrations, or sci-fi/fantasy for that matter, seem to work best when they capture a mood, a sense of presence, rather than elaborating details and striving for a realistic look. Maybe because they then allow the viewer to partake in the imagining – to be part of the storytelling process? If a picture is too elaborate, too detailed nothing is left to the imagination. And fairytales, legends, myths - and sci-fi/fantasy – depends greatly on the viewers’ imagination. More so I would say than fiction based in the real world – where references can be anchored in more tangible things than “imagine a hag in a dark, dark wood”.

These pictures generate mood by using nature, and more precisely nearly empty landscapes. When I watch them I feel like a lonely traveller, getting a glimpse of that which is normally hidden. I love these pictures, in the way you love things you have grown up with – a sort of irrational, nostalgic love. Ergo I’d like to share them. This post is also to the sweet alexandral who expressed a wish to see the pictures.

The paintings are all made by Theodor Kittelsen (1851-1914), a Norwegian painter. He spent his whole life illustrating fairytales and legends. His possibly best work was a series of paintings depicting the Black Death. There’s a small post on them here.

( cut for pictures, as this will be very image heavy )