Ásgrímur Jónsson (March 4, 1876 – April 5, 1958) was an

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

ic painter, and one of the first in the country to make art a professional living. He studied at the Royal Academy in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

between 1900 and 1903 and traveled widely after graduation. The subjects of his pictures are mostly the landscapes of his home country, particularly mountains. His painting style is similar to the French

impressionists Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating ...

Corot CoRoT (French: ; English: Convection, Rotation and planetary Transits) was a space telescope mission which operated from 2006 to 2013. The mission's two objectives were to search for extrasolar planets with short orbital periods, particularly th ...

. Some of his pictures also illustrate Icelandic sagas and folk tales. He was also noted for his murals in various churches in Iceland. A number of his works are on display in the National Gallery of Iceland. Ásgrímur influenced many artists in Iceland including

Jóhannes Sveinsson Kjarval Jóhannes Sveinsson Kjarval (15 October 1885 – 13 April 1972) was an Icelandic painter. He is considered one of the most important artists of Iceland. Early life Born in poverty, Kjarval was adopted and as a young man worked as a fisherman. H ...

. A short time before he died he donated his house at No. 74, Bergstaðastræti,

Reykjavík Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a po ...

to the Icelandic Government along with all those paintings which were at that time in his possession. These consisted of 192 oil paintings and 277 water colours together with a great number of unfinished pictures dating from various periods in his life. His house is now the Ásgrímur Jónsson Collection, part of the National Gallery of Iceland. During his lifetime Ásgrímur was honoured in many ways. He was made honorary professor at the

University of Iceland The University of Iceland ( is, Háskóli Íslands ) is a public research university in Reykjavík, Iceland and the country's oldest and largest institution of higher education. Founded in 1911, it has grown steadily from a small civil servants' s ...

and, in 1933 he was made Grand Knight of the Icelandic

Order of the Falcon The Order of the Falcon ( is, Hin íslenska fálkaorða) is the only order of chivalry in Iceland, founded by King Christian X of Denmark and Iceland on 3 July 1921. The award is awarded for merit for Iceland and humanity and has five degrees. N ...

. He was an honorary member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Arts The Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts ( sv, Kungliga Akademien för de fria konsterna), commonly called the Royal Academy, is located in Stockholm, Sweden. An independent organization that promotes the development of painting, sculpture, archite ...

and

Knight of Dannebrog A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

, first class. He died in 1958 and was buried on the cemetery of Gaulverjabæjar Church in Flóahreppur.

References

External links

Ásgrímur Jónsson at the National Gallery of Iceland
{{DEFAULTSORT:Asgrimur Jonsson 1876 births 1958 deaths Icelandic Impressionist painters Landscape artists 19th-century Icelandic painters 19th-century Icelandic male artists 20th-century Icelandic painters 20th-century Icelandic male artists Knights First Class of the Order of the Dannebrog Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts Male painters

References

Further reading

External links