The Ash Lad poking in the Ashes

The Ash Lad poking in the Ashes is the image that gives the fairy-tale hero his name — Askeladden, the Ash Lad, who sits by the hearth poking in the cinders while his brothers go out into the world. This domestic, apparently idle figure conceals the potential that will be revealed in subsequent adventures, and Kittelsen's image captures the essential paradox of the folk tale: that apparent uselessness is the mark of the hero who will ultimately prevail. As the opening image of the cycle, it establishes the hero in his place of apparent insignificance before the journey begins.

The hearthside composition centres on the crouching Ash Lad in the warm glow of the fire, with the domestic interior rendered with the same careful naturalism Kittelsen brings to his landscape and animal subjects. The fire's warmth contrasts with the world outside, visually establishing the hero's sequestered starting point.