Ok, back to what I saw on my vacation — who is the most popular visual artist in Iceland?
The answer would not have occurred to me either, even after I saw a show of his work at the Reykjavik Art Museum. I was underwhelmed.
The next day, I visited the National Gallery of Iceland, which had two exhibitions on view. One showased work by Louise Bourgeois, and included a nice big (but not huge) spider, plus several other interesting works and many no-so-interesting drawings.
Across the hall was a show devoted to Jóhannes Sveinsson Kjarval, the same painter whose work was on view at the Reykjavik Art Museum. A (mostly) landscape painter who lived from 1885 to 1972, Kjarval — interestingly — has the same sort of reputation online as my initial judgment. That is, according to a brief entry on Wikipedia, his painting “vary greatly in style,” which has earned him criticism.
My first exposure was only confirmed by the second, larger exhibition. Kjarval clearly had talent, but he moved through many styles without, judging by two exhibitions, ever really developing something wonderful of his own.
When I looked him up, I discovered that Icelanders like his art, perhaps partly because he painted elves, trolls and characters in their island’s sagas. That may also explain why he is depicted on the 2000 krona bank note. (Bjork also wrote a flute tribute to him, and recorded it for her first album.) I also learned that what I called the main branch of the Reykjavik Art Museum here is named the Kjarvalsstaðir, after him.
According to Art-Iceland, “He was a bohemian and a romantic, never had much money and lived by the day giving away his paintings to receive food and shelter….He always appreciated the delicate Icelandic nature, with its ever changing colours, the moss, the lava, the arctic light and changing weather.” Use that link above to see some of his works; I’ve posted just a few here. Women by the Spring, n.d., is at left above; Icelandic Melody, 1959, is at right.
Tell me if I’m missing something.