The Stavanger born Peder Severin Krøyer (1851-1909) showed a talent for drawing from a young age, and was admitted to the Academy of Fine Arts in 1864, only 14 years old. He studied there until 1870, and made his debut the following year with a portrait of his friend Franz Schwartz at the Kunsthall in Charlottenborg. Krøyer then went to Germany and France for further studies and work.

The desire to travel seems to have taken hold of the young artist, and in 1878 he went on to Spain and Italy. In Grenada the same year he painted the portrait Raphaela 1878. On his travels to Italy, he visited the great cities of art such as Sienna, Florence and Rome. The travels provided inspiration for one of Krøyer's most famous paintings, Italian Village Hatters. The work's large format and socio-political realism caused controversy when it was exhibited in Vienna in 1882 and introduced the new tendencies in art of the time. But the Italian coastal landscape and the special light are also said to have inspired the artist, as in Kystparti. From the coast at Amalfi. Later, Krøyer would discover the Scandinavian light on the coast of Jylland in Denmark.

Most people associate Krøyer today as part of the Skagen painters, along with Anna and Michael Ancher. Their friendship was established after they met at the Salon in Paris in 1882 and Krøyer travels to Skagen that same year. Skagen had been a gathering place for artists since the 1870s, but became a gathering point around Krøyer and the other artists from the 1890s. In 1894 Anna and Peder Krøyer get their own home in Skagen. Today, this is known as the artist's home Krøyers Hus in Skagen, and the home is the backdrop for many motifs of events that took place here. In addition, Krøyer was known for his portraits, and the couple experienced great success as artists in their own time.