Jetten på Dovrefjell 

Curator: Oh my word, talk about a winter's tale gone sideways. It's titled "Jetten på Dovrefjell," which, if my Norwegian isn’t completely off, translates to something like "The Lad on Dovrefjell." Editor: Well, sideways for the bear maybe! My immediate impression is that the lad looks far too pleased with himself to be leading around such a bewildered polar bear on what appears to be a rather chilly stroll. What are your thoughts? Curator: Right? And look at the composition, the artist Theodor Severin Kittelsen has this amazing way of juxtaposing the everyday with the fantastical, it reminds me a bit of a slightly sinister storybook illustration, don’t you think? The watercolor medium only enhances this otherworldly feel! Editor: Absolutely, the polar bear serves as such a fascinating symbolic device here. The lad seems to think he has mastered the untamed wild, right? This isn’t just a polar bear; it’s a walking emblem of power brought low. Curator: It's definitely about taming the beast, and perhaps a comment on man's relationship with nature in general. Note how Kittelsen uses color - the subdued palette throws this bright golden-ish bear into such sharp contrast with everything else. Editor: The bear's gaze… it's almost accusatory, don’t you feel? Or at least, resigned. It pulls on that older, darker thread within our cultural memory of nature’s revenge, while the boy's triumph remains so shallow. He believes himself master when he's really just a temporary nuisance. Curator: I love that reading. And to consider the context; Kittelsen was incredibly preoccupied with Norwegian folklore. I wouldn't be surprised if this watercolor wasn't simply about nature, but about something more profoundly human - delusion! The folklore makes the point sharper and much more interesting. Editor: Definitely, his style captures the fragile balance between hubris and humility. Looking closely, his mastery is revealed: there is this interplay between fantasy, Romanticism and even Caricature… that brings some unsettling ambiguity and that feeling really lingers. It’s what makes this illustration timeless, don't you think? Curator: Oh, completely, there's something deeply ingrained in how we continue to retell tales of man vs nature… Thanks for taking a stroll through this with me! Editor: My pleasure. What I found interesting is just how relevant the issues raised by these older images still are and hopefully our dialogue added another angle!