The turn of the 20th century was a period characterized by industrialization, modernity, and science. During this transformative time, there were many artists who turned their attention towards the darker aspects of existence and the mysteries of humanity. One such artist was Olof Sager-Nelson, born in Värmland and educated in Gothenburg. His life was marked by tragedy from a young age, as his mother died when he was only four years old and his father was imprisoned for embezzlement five years later. After serving his sentence, his father went to the United States and never returned, leaving Olof in the care of his aunt in Åmål.

Sager-Nelson's artistic career took off in 1893 when the patron and art collector Pontus Fürstenberg, at the urging of Carl Larsson, funded a few years of study in Paris. There, Sager-Nelson settled in a damp and gloomy studio in Montparnasse. It was there that he met Ivan Aguéli, who introduced him to the literary and artistic circles of symbolists and occultists. After settling in Paris, Sager-Nelson would never return to Sweden, and it was abroad that he created his most significant works. He passed away at the young age of 27 from tuberculosis.