Valentin Kielland (1866–1944) is one of Norway’s most idiosyncratic furniture makers within Art Nouveau. Using his artistic background within sculpting, Kielland created symbolist furniture sculptures of painted solid wood with a decidedly organic, bold, and unique design.

Kielland rejected all forms of mechanical production since he felt they created a lifeless, drab aesthetic, and he was an unapologetic champion of craftsmanship as an essential basis of art.

The painted birchwood bookcase from 1898–1900 is one of Kielland’s masterpieces, with craftsmanship and nature characteristically coming to the fore in the composition. Traces of chiselled carving help create a decorative pattern on the surfaces. The women from two stages of life that adorn the cabinet doors symbolize the cycle of life, as does the floral décor on the short left-hand wall. The pronounced, organic lines, combined with the extensive use of asymmetry, characterize the cabinet’s main shape, and they give the impression of being a piece of living nature. In all likelihood the cabinet was originally outfitted with a top in the same style.