Peder Andersen was born on the island of
Helgøya, in
Hedmark county, Norway. He was the son of Anders Thoresen and Pernille Pedersdatter. He grew up in
Ringsaker, but lived in the 1820s on the Balke farm in
Østre Toten in
Oppland county. Farmers in Toten paid for his education, and he decorated several farms in Toten in return. They actively encouraged his painting activities and later supported him in obtaining higher education. In the autumn of 1827, Balke served as an apprentice to engraver and painter Heinrich August Grosch (1763–1843). He was also a student at the Tegneskole under Grosch and
Jacob Munch. Balke signed a two-year contract as an apprentice to the Danish decorator and artist Jens Funch. From autumn 1829 to spring 1833, he was a pupil of
Carl Johan Fahlcrantz at the
Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts in
Stockholm. Balke was also a pupil of
Johan Christian Dahl from 1843 to 1844. During the summer of 1830 he walked from
Rjukan in the
Vestfjorddalen valley, through
Telemark county,
Røldal Municipality,
Kinsarvik Municipality all the way to the city of
Bergen, and then back to Rjukan through
Vossevangen to
Gudvangen, further over
Filefjell to
Valdres and then across the mountains to
Hallingdal. Along the way, he painted and drew small sketches that were later developed into paintings. He also traveled to Germany, and Russia. He visited Paris and London. In Stockholm, he completed several of the paintings he had outlined on his 1832
Finnmark tour. Some of these were sold to the royal family. In 1846 he sold thirty of his paintings to
Louis Philippe I of France for the
Palace of Versailles. ==Legacy==