Peder Balke - Nordlys over fire menn i robåt - NG.M.04272 - National Gallery of Norway

Peder Balke (1804–1887) was a Norwegian painter. He is known for portraying the landscape of Norway in a romantic and dramatic manner. Peder Andersen was born on the island of Helgøya, in Hedmark county, Norway. He was the son of Anders Thoresen and Pernille Pedersdatter. He grew up in Ringsaker, but lived in the 1820s on the Balke farm in Toten in Oppland county. Farmers in Toten paid for his education, and he decorated several farms in Toten in return.