STEFAN JONSSON OF MÖORUDALUR (1908-1994)
Herðubreið / Mount Herdubreid (1,682 m - 5518ft)
Iceland
In Sheep of Mount Herdubreid, oil on canvas, 1982, Private owner
Herðubreið (1,682 m - 5518ft) meaning broad-shouldered in icelandic is a tuya in north-east Iceland. It is situated in the Highlands of Iceland at the east side of the Ódáðahraun desert and close to Askja volcano. The desert is a large lava field originating from eruptions of Trölladyngja and other shield volcanoes in the area. Herðubreið was formed beneath the icesheet that covered Iceland during the last glacial period.
Due to the mountain's steep and unstable sides, the first ascent was in 1908 despite centuries of knowledge of its existence.
Near the mountain lies an oasis called Herðubreiðarlindir with a campground and hiking trails. In former times, outcasts who had been excluded from Icelandic society because of crimes they had committed lived at the oasis. One such outlaw was Fjalla-Eyvindur, who lived there during the winter of 1774–1775. In 2019 Herðubreið became a part of Vatnajökull National Park.
The painter
Stefán Vilhjálmur Jónsson, said of Möðrudalur (1908- 1994) lived at Möðrudalur furthest and taught himself to the town. Stephen was a known naïveist and his pictures ran out on shows. He began painting at an old age after moving to town from the middle of the 20th century.
He was self-reliant without observing Astrid Jónsson, a painter who came to Möðrudalur several times to paint.
Herðubreið and horses were his hallmarks, as he himself told an interview in Morgunblaðið July 17, 1993: "It will always bring some pictures of Herðubreið to me, she is so much a beautiful mountain. That's what makes me happy. Frosti and Mökkur and Hardy Red. They're in trouble my favorite horse pictures. "
He was also a photographer and most of his photos were labeled with the artist's name Stórval.
Stephen was a colorful townspeople and said about himself: "Then I rode a lot about the town and often had a harmonica and painted me too. I went east sometimes but not in recent times. When one has become a multifunctional in pictures, it is interesting to leave them. But one should go out too and talk to his acquaintances, and I want to go to the bank so often. I see so much jealousy. Just put up the hat like that and bump me into town. "
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2018 - Wandering Vertexes...
by Francis Rousseau