Astrid Kjellaug Nordsjö (November 14, 1926 – March 31, 2021) was a Swedish-Norwegian artist. Nordsjö is considered one of the Nordic countries' foremost

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic Church, Catholic, and Lutheranism, Lutheran churches. The most common subjects include Jesus, Mary, mother of ...

painters. She is represented in the

Saint Catherine's Monastery Saint Catherine's Monastery ( , ), officially the Sacred Autonomous Royal Monastery of Saint Catherine of the Holy and God-Trodden Mount Sinai, is a Christian monastery located in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. Located at the foot of Mount Sinai ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, in churches in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, but most of her artistic work is found in churches and chapels along with private collections in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

Kjellaug Nordsjö was born in 1926 in Vestfossen,

, to a farming family with five daughters, where she was the oldest. The farm where the family lived was occupied during the German occupation of Norway during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

by German soldiers. After the war, Nordsjö began studying at an art school in

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

, where she was accommodated by acquaintances of her family. Later she was employed at the Norwegian Seamen's Church in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

, and at the same time she could continue studying at a local art school there. In Rotterdam. she came in contact with icons and icon painting. Back home in Vestfossen, she married the local parish minister Per Nordsjö. The couple soon moved to

where the shortage of ministers in the Diocese of Karlstad was the reason why Norwegian ministers with families were attracted there. One of them was the Nordsjö family, who settled near the Norwegian border in Bogen's vicarage in northern Gunnarskog. Besides her duties in the vicarage, she did some artistic work, mainly

batik Batik is a dyeing technique using wax Resist dyeing, resist. The term is also used to describe patterned textiles created with that technique. Batik is made by drawing or stamping wax on a cloth to prevent colour absorption during the dyein ...

and painting. When her husband retired and the family moved to

Arvika Arvika is a locality and the seat of Arvika Municipality, Värmland County, Sweden with 14,244 inhabitants in 2010. Geography The town of Arvika is situated at Kyrkviken, a bay of Glafsfjorden, Sweden's only inland fjord, a remnant of the tim ...

, her artistic activity increased. Her husband took care of the household and finally Nordsjö was able to devote herself to icon painting full time. In 1982-1987, she participated in art courses in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

for the icon painter Robert de Caluwé. She also worked with icon painters Erland Forsberg,

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

, and George Drobot, Paris.Ikonostasion : Världens ikonmålare
by Diman Modig Georgiades. Kjellaug Nordsjö painted almost 3,000 icons ranging from the small format to big pictures. She died at the age of 94 in 2021 in Arvika, Sweden.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nordsjö, Kjellaug 1926 births 2021 deaths 20th-century Swedish painters Norwegian emigrants to Sweden People from Buskerud