Jacob Olof Magnus Thunman, son of a Swedish school teacher, was born in the student residency Imperfektum on Västra Ågatan in Uppsala. After studying in Uppsala, Thunman attended Stockholm’s Academy of Fine Arts from 1902 to 1906, where he was awarded a medal in his final year and met his future wife. As an Academy student, he participated in the inaugural Konstnärslaget (The Artist League) exhibition in 1905. In 1916, Thunman married fellow artist Carin Kuylenstierna (1879-1968), a mayor’s daughter from Axvall in Västergötland in the Uppland archipelago, where they resided until 1923. They then moved to Skälsjön at Lövstabruk, Österlövsta parish in Uppland and finally to Knivsta, where they lived in the gatehouse at Noor’s castle. Knivsta is now home to the Thunman School, named after him. Thunman was not only active as a visual artist: he described himself “as a bit of a painter, a bit of a poet, a bit of a sage, a bit of a human being”, addressing local motifs.

Towards the end of the nineteenth century, Scandinavia–like many other European countries–was very much in the grip of nostalgia for the ‘unspoiled’ past. Similar to the artist’s interest in the frozen life in Bruges or Brittany, Scandinavians harked back to their Pagan past through a Protestant perspective. The late rise of Swedish industrialization gave rise to a much-needed national identity based on folktales of the Viking Age.

The lonely tree has been an idiosyncratic vehicle for the international symbolist movement. In particular, the oak tree holds a special place in the Viking culture, symbolizing the warrior’s strength, steadfastness, and courage. Throughout mythology, trees represent powerful gods like Zeus, God of Thunder. In Scandinavia, legends often were attached to individual trees connected to the spirit of the burial mound they were protecting. These spirited trees were to be left in peace and showered with sacrifices to keep their good soul alive.