Louis Moe
Biography
Louis Maria Niels Peder Halling Moe, born on April 20, 1857, in Arendal (Norway) and died on October 23, 1945, in Copenhagen (Denmark), was a painter, illustrator, engraver, and author of Norwegian origin, who became a naturalized Danish citizen in 1919. He is considered one of the most significant artists of the Scandinavian visual imagination at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.
Born into a cultured family—his father, Halvor Georg Theodor Moe, was a dentist, and his mother, Hansine Constance Halling, came from an artistic background—he developed a strong passion for drawing at an early age. He first trained under the sculptor Julius Middelthun in Christiania (now Oslo), and in 1876, he entered the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen, where he studied under Frederik Vermehren and Jørgen Roed, later continuing with the painter Laurits Tuxen.
Having settled permanently in Denmark, Louis Moe became known as one of the most prolific and beloved illustrators of his time. He contributed to numerous publications, including youth magazines, collections of fairy tales, Norse myths, ancient epics, and classic literary works. His drawing style is instantly recognizable: precise, elegant, infused with symbolism and Art Nouveau influences, sometimes tinged with discreet eroticism or a unique sense of humor.
From 1897 onward, he spent his summers in Norway at his estate in Juvlandsæter, in the mountainous region of Telemark, which had a profound influence on his visual imagination. Among his most famous works are his illustrations for the Poetic Edda, the writings of Saxo Grammaticus, as well as mythological and symbolist compositions such as Ragnarök, Death and the Ancient Races, and The Valkyrie.
He also explored engraving, lithography, and oil painting, and distinguished himself in various media, including posters, mural decorations, and illustrated children’s books.
In 1931, he was named a Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog in recognition of his artistic achievements. His works are now held in several major institutions, including the national museums of Copenhagen, Oslo, Bergen, and Paris.
A scholar as well as a popular artist, Louis Moe represents a bridge between Nordic Romantic tradition and the modern currents of European Symbolism. He remains a key figure in the history of illustration in Scandinavia.
Bibliography
Books:
Bjarne Moe, Louis Moe and His Art, Oslo, Aschehoug, 1943.
Sigurd Willoch, Norwegian Printmaking Through a Hundred Years, Oslo, Aschehoug, 1941, pp. 85–88.
Erik Werenskiold, Louis Moe: Illustrator and Artist, Copenhagen, Gyldendal, 1925.
Øistein Parmann, Louis Moe: An Artist Between Two Cultures, Oslo, Gyldendal Norsk Forlag, 1981.
Anne Aaserud, Louis Moe and the Nordic Myth, Tromsø, Northern Norway Art Museum, 1995.
Tordis Ørjasæter, Louis Moe: Illustrator and Fairy Tale Writer, Kristiansand, University College Publishing, 2004.
Exhibition Catalogues:
Louis Moe: Graphic Works, National Gallery of Denmark (Statens Museum for Kunst), Copenhagen, 1978.
Norse Mythology in Art, National Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen, 1995.
Louis Moe – Fairy Tales and the Underworld, Blue Heron Gallery, Iceland, 2019.
Articles and Journals:
Anne Aaserud, “Louis Moe and the Decadent Style,” Kunst og Kultur, vol. 78, 1995, pp. 122–130.
Harald Flor, “Beauty and Ruin: Louis Moe and Symbolism,” Dagbladet, May 12, 2002, pp. 36–38.
Jorunn Veiteberg, “Mythical Images: Louis Moe in Norwegian and Danish Artistic Tradition,” Norwegian Art Yearbook, 2005, pp. 89–95.
