Erik Werenskiold
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Erik Theodor Werenskiold (born 1855 in Eidskog, died 23 November 1938) was a Norwegian painter and illustrator. He is especially known for his drawings for the Asbjørnsen and Moe collection of Norwegian fairy tales, and his illustrations for the Norwegian edition of the Snorri Sturlason Heimskringla.
Erik Werenskiold grew up in Kongsvinger, and started his studies in 1872. Based on advice from the painter Adolph Tidemand, he attended a college for painters, and in the autumn of 1875 he went to Münich where he stayed for four years. Inspired by French paintings of nature and the naturalist movement, Werenskiold moved to Paris in 1881 to continue his studies.
In 1883 Werenskiold returned to Norway. He made several paintings of peasants in landscapes, as well as portraits of celebrities like Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson and Henrik Ibsen. Illustrations for Norwegian fairy tales had interested him since his time in Munich, and he now got the opportunity to illustrate Norwegian fairy tales together with Theodor Kittelsen.
