Then they both laughed heartilyIllustration for "The Companion" Series title

“A new suitor has arrived to seek my hand, my friend,’ said the princess. ‘He is young and beautiful, but I don’t want anyone but you,’ she said, as she made herself attractive to the mountain troll. ‘So I put him to the test, and there are the scissors he was supposed to hide and watch over. But now you can watch over them!’ she said. And then they both laughed heartily.”

Both content and style imbue this small drawing with a condensed atmosphere. Folktale illustrations were drawn at the size they would later be reproduced at, before being transferred to a xylograph (engraving) for reproduction in a book. Erik Werenskiold has taken this into consideration in his pencilling: his varied hatching breathes life into the figures, while the contrast between light and shadow accentuates the paradoxical nature of the motif.

In 1878 Werenskiold had been commissioned by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen to illustrate some of the Norwegian folktales. In addition to being one of the premier illustrators in Norwegian art history, Werenskiold has along with Theodor Kittelsen helped visualize the imaginary characters from the world of folktales, enabling them to achieve a prominent place in Norwegian cultural history.

The museum has a wealth of folktale illustrations. Eight drawings of “The Companion”, including three preparatory studies, are to be found in the collection. This particular drawing was purchased in 1888.

Text: Møyfrid Tveit