Gerhard Morgenstjerne Munthe (Düsseldorf 1875-Leiden 1927) was the eldest son of a Norwegian father and a Dutch mother. His father trained at the famous Düsseldorf academy, where he was later appointed professor. Gerhard also achieved 'Meisterschüler' here. After the death of his father, his mother decided to return to the Netherlands with the three children and live in The Hague.

After his marriage, Gerhard lived in Katwijk from 1901 to 1908 and then again in The Hague, close to the beach and the sea: the inspiration for his paintings. He was a member of Pulchri Studio and was introduced to artistic circles by chairman Mesdag to find opportunities to exhibit his work. He also became a member of Arti and St. Lucas in Amsterdam and his paintings hung in the Stedelijk Museum among those of Willy Sluiter, Piet van der Hem and Kees Maks.

Munthe belonged to the younger generation of landscape painters under the influence of the Hague School painters such as Willem Mesdag, Jacob Maris and Anton Mauve. However, Munthe used more pastel shades and later earth tones, bright yellow, red and/or blue. Munthe did not like painting outside and used the sketches he made from nature in his studio.

The bomb barge, the shell cart, the fishermen's wives and the net makers were a recurring and popular theme in Munthe's work, which sometimes had a somewhat pearly feel. He died in a hospital in Leiden in 1927 from a throat problem at the age of 51.