LE JARLHETTUR PEINT PAR ASGRIMUR JONSSON

 

ASGRIMUR JONSSON (1876-1958)
Jarlhettur (1,100m)
Islande

In Mt Jarlhettur and Langjokull Glacier, 1928, huile sur toile, National Gallery of Iceland

La montagne
Le Jarlhettur (1,100m) ou Cap du Comte en français  est facilement visible dans le sud de l'Islande depuis de nombreux endroits et sous de nombreux angles. La crête mesure 15 kilomètres de long et comprend 20 montagnes dont chaque sommet est semblable à l'autre, bien que la hauteur et le diamètre diffèrent. C'est un spectacle époustoufflant que l'on peut voir en parcourant le Cercle d'Or, avec la calotte glaciaire du glacier Langjökull en arrière-plan. La direction de la crête est la même que celle de la plupart des fissures géologiques de la région, et d' Islande en général d'ailleurs : du sud-ouest au nord-est. La meilleure vue se trouve du côté est, avec le glacier Langjökull apparaissant en arrière-plan, une perspective qui intéresse toujours les photographes et les peintres. Il est assez étrange de trouver ce nom de "Comte" puisque l'Islande n'a pratiquement jamais eu de véritables artistocrates et encore moins de Comtes administrant les terres en Comtés. D’un autre côté, les Vikings islandais voyageaient beaucoup en Europe et connaissaient l'existence de comtes et des aristocrates. Géologiquement, les montagnes elles mêmes sont de nature palagonite et  presque entièrement dépourvues de végétation. Les lacs et les petites rivières au pied des montagnes sont constituées des eaux glaciaires ; tout est gris et ressemble à une autre planète. Ce contraste avec bon nombre des magnifiques beautés naturelles de la nature islandaise rend la crête de Jarlhettur fascinante. La plupart des montagnes mesurent entre 800 et 900 mètres d'altitude, mais la plus haute, Tröllhetta ou Troll Cap, mesure un peu moins de 1 100 mètres.

Le  peintre
Ásgrímur Jónsson, est un peintre islandais, l'un des premiers à vivre de son art. Il étudie à l'Académie royale des beaux-arts du Danemark entre 1900 et 1903 et voyage ensuite beaucoup à l'étranger. À partir de 1940, il s'installe pendant l'été à Húsafell, dans la région du Vesturland et nombre de ses peintures y font référence. Il y fait construire l'église actuelle.
Il est fait professeur honoraire à l'Université d'Islande, membre honoraire de l'Académie royale des arts de Suède, chevalier de l'Ordre du Dannebrog danois, et grand chevalier de l'Ordre du Faucon islandais en 1933.l
Ásgrímur est surtout connu pour ses peintures de paysages dans un style impressionniste, bien qu'il ait abordé d'autres sujets, en particulier les sagas et les histoires folkloriques. Il est également l'auteur de fresques dans plusieurs églises d'Islande.
Peu avant sa mort, il fait don au gouvernement islandais de sa maison au 74, Bergstaðastræti à Reykjavik avec toutes les œuvres en sa possession, soit 192 peintures à l'huile et 277 aquarelles, ainsi qu'un grand nombre de peintures inachevées.

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2024 - Gravir les montagnes en peinture
Un blog de Francis Rousseau

MOUNT HERDUBREID PAINTED BY SVEINN THÓRARINSSON

 

SVEINN THÓRARINSSON (1899 -1977) 

Herðubreið  / Mount Herdubreid (1,682 m - 5518ft) 

Iceland

 In Herðubreið, oil on canvas, 1926

Biography of the painter  
Sveinn Thórarinsson (in our alphabet Thorarinsson) and his wife Karen Agnete thórarinsson were both painters. Sveinn's parents were farmers in Kílakot (Iceland) but the family has maintained a strong tradition of artistic activities for several generations. Born in this very small and sparsely populated island that is Iceland, Sveinn Thórarinsson grew up, without knowing it, in a family that had a strong artistic reputation among its neighbors! His parents therefore brought him up naturally as an artist and in particular by making him play the violin like his father. Child, very puny, unable to compete with other adolescents in the work in the fields, he was sent to study music in the city. The music could therefore have occupied his mind completely, but it was not.
After successful studies in Reykjavik, he returned home and decided to paint while continuing to make music. He was suddently so active as a painter that people came to see his works from all the farms around! As his paintings were popular, he quickly became a renowned painter in Iceland, which was hardly surprising given the family he came from. For a long time he continued to play the violin and paint, at the same time, including frescoes in chapels drowned in snow. For several years, he painted and sold his works regularly, thus amassing a certain amount of money, which allowed him to face the wide world.
In the fall of 1925, he left to study at the Academy of Fine Arts.
Then his career as a painter, carried out mainly within his island, will carry him peacefully until his death.
Since then his price in the auction rooms has continued to rise and he appears as one of the great Icelandic painters of the twentieth century painting in a style which is very much inspired by that of Cezanne and the French impressions, which he knew mainly from books ...

 
The mountain
Herðubreið (1,682 m - 5,518 ft) meaning broad-shouldered is a tuya in northern part of Vatnajökull National Park, 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. The mountain is often referred to as "The Queen of Icelandic Mountains" by Icelanders due to its beautiful shape. 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.

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2021 - Wandering Vertexes...
by Francis Rousseau

SNAEFELL PAINTED BY ASGRIMUR JONSSON

 

ASGRIMUR JONSSON (1876-1958)
Snæfell or Snæfellsjökull (1,446 m - 4,744 ft)
Iceland

The mountain
Snæfell or Snæfellsjökull (1,446 m - 4,744 ft) (meaning snow-fell glacier) is a 700,000-year-old glacier-capped stratovolcano in western Iceland. The name of the mountain is actually Snæfell, but it is normally called "Snæfellsjökull" to distinguish it from two other mountains with this name. It is situated on the most western part of the Snæfellsnes peninsula in Iceland. Sometimes it may be seen from the city of Reykjavík over Faxa Bay, at a distance of 120 km.
The mountain is one of the most famous sites of Iceland, primarily due to the novel Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864) by Jules Verne, in which the protagonists find the entrance to a passage leading to the center of the earth on Snæfellsjökull. The mountain is included in the Snæfellsjökull National Park (Icelandic: Þjóðgarðurinn Snæfellsjökull).
In August 2012 the summit was ice-free for the first time in recorded history.

The painter
Asgrímur Jónsson was an Icelandic painter, and one of the first in the country to make art a professional living. He studied at the Royal Academy in Copenhagen 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 like Corot. 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. Jónsson influenced many artists in Iceland. A short time before he died he had donated his house in Reykjavík 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. During his lifetime Ásgrímur Jónsson was honoured in many ways. He was made honorary professor at the University of Iceland and, in 1933 he was made Grand Knight of the Icelandic Order of the Falcon. He was an honorary member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts and Knight of Dannebrog, first class. He died in 1958 and was buried in Gaulverjabær.

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2020 - Wandering Vertexes...
by Francis Rousseau

THE ESJA PAINTED BY ASGRIMUR JONSSON

ASGRIMUR JONSSON (1876-1958)

The Esja or Esjan (914 m - 2, 999ft)

Iceland 

In The island Viðey and the mountain Esja, oil on canvas 1931

The mountain
Esja (914 m - 2,999 ft) often called "Esjan" or "The Esja" is situated in the south-west of Iceland, about 10 km to the north of Iceland's capital city Reykjavik. Esja is not a single mountain, but a volcanic mountain range, made from basalt and tuff. The etymology of the name is unclear. Esja can be used as a first name in Iceland. In the Kjalnesingasaga, there is a rich widow among Irish settlers named Esja, but it is likely that the women's name is derived from the mountain and not vice versa.
The easternmost summits of the mountain range, called Móskarðshnúkar, are of an unusually light colour. An Icelandic writer in the 19th century, so goes the story, hoped to see the sun there after a long period of rain. But when he looked closer, it was only the mountaintops with their colours. In reality, it is the rhyolite stone, often to be found in Icelandic nature near old (and also active) central volcanoes.

The painter
Asgrímur Jónsson was an Icelandic painter, and one of the first in the country to make art a professional living. He studied at the Royal Academy in Copenhagen 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 like Corot. 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. Jónsson influenced many artists in Iceland. A short time before he died he had donated his house in Reykjavík 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. During his lifetime Ásgrímur Jónsson was honoured in many ways. He was made honorary professor at the University of Iceland and, in 1933 he was made Grand Knight of the Icelandic Order of the Falcon. He was an honorary member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts and Knight of Dannebrog, first class. He died in 1958 and was buried in Gaulverjabær.
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2019 - Wandering Vertexes...
by Francis Rousseau

MOUNT HERDUBREID BY STEFAN JONSSON OF MÖORUDALUR

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  

The mountain 
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 

HEIRDUBREIT SKETCHED BY AASMUND FRISAK

AASMUND FRISAK (1852 – 1935) 

Herdubreit  (1,682 m - 5,518 ft)

Iceland

 In Herdubreit as seen from  Mördrudal, The British Library

The mountain 
Herdubreit  (1,682 m - 5,518 ft)   (Herðubreið in idelandic)) is a tuya in north-east Iceland.
A tuya is a type of distinctive, flat-topped, steep-sided volcano formed when lava erupts through a thick glacier or ice sheet. They are somewhat rare worldwide, being confined to regions which were covered by glaciers and had active volcanism during the same period.
Discovering and dating the lava flows in a tuya has proven useful in reconstructing past glacial ice extents and thicknesses.
Herdubreit  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.[citation needed] One such outlaw was Fjalla-Eyvindur, who lived there during the winter of 1774–1775.

The artist 
Aasmund Frisak (20 March 1852 – 1935) was a Norwegian naval officer and politician for the Conservative Party. He graduated from the Norwegian Naval Academy in 1872. After running the sailors' school in Fredrikshald from 1878 to 1887 he returned to Horten as teacher at the Norwegian Naval Academy from 1891 to 1897. In 1897 he was hired at the Karljohansvern shipyard. He held the ranks of Captain from 1894 and Commander from 1899. He was also a local bank director. From 1901 to 1904 he served as mayor of Horten municipality, and he was elected to the Parliament of Norway in 1903, representing the rural constituency of Jarlsberg og Larviks Amt.

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2018 - Wandering Vertexes...
by Francis Rousseau 

THE ESJA (2) BY JOHANNES SVEINSSON KJARVAL

JOHANNES SVEINSSON KJARVAL (1885-1972) 

The Esja or Esjan  (914 m - 2, 999ft)

Iceland  

The mountain

Esja (914 m - 2,999 ft) often called "Esjan" or "The Esja" is situated in the south-west of Iceland, about 10 km to the north of Iceland's capital city Reykjavik. Esja is not a single mountain, but a volcanic mountain range, made from basalt and tuff. The etymology of the name is unclear. Esja can be used as a first name in Iceland. In the Kjalnesingasaga, there is a rich widow among Irish settlers named Esja, but it is likely that the women's name is derived from the mountain and not vice versa.

The easternmost summits of the mountain range, called Móskarðshnúkar, are of an unusually light colour. An Icelandic writer in the 19th century, so goes the story, hoped to see the sun there after a long period of rain. But when he looked closer, it was only the mountaintops with their colours. In reality, it is the rhyolite stone, often to be found in Icelandic nature near old (and also active) central volcanoes.

The painter
Johannes Sveinsson Kjarval was an Icelandic painter. He is considered one of the most important artists of Iceland. Born in poverty, he was adopted and, as a young man, worked as a fisherman. However, he spent every spare time drawing and painting and managed to learn basics from artist Ásgrímur Jónsson. At age 27 with financial support from fishermen and the Icelandic Confederation of Labour he passed an entrance examination and was admitted to the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts for higher education in the arts where he completed his studies. During the Copenhagen years he became acquainted with various styles including impressionism, expressionism and cubism but he also became an accomplished draughtsman. Later he also took shorter trips to France and Italy.
Kjarval was a prolific painter, leaving thousands of drawings and paintings after a long life. The paintings vary greatly in style and frequently mix different styles into a very personal style. Although not surreal, some of his works include absurd and symbolist elements mixing elves and myths into landscape. Many of his works include Icelandic landscape and lava formation but many of his landscape paintings are partially "cubist" and abstract with his focus on zooming on the closest ground and less the impressive mysterious mountains in the background. Later in his life his art frequently also included abstract painting.
Because of the unique mix of styles, it is an oversimplification to classify him has a landscape painter. His work includes expressionist, abstract, cubist, landscape and portrait paintings and drawings - and his "style promiscuity" was highly original as the man himself was. He was a highly original modernizer of his time and still remains quite unique among Icelandic and world painters. In 1958 he was awarded the Prince Eugen Medal by the King of Sweden.

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2018 - Wandering Vertexes...
by Francis Rousseau 

HVANNADALSDHNJUKUR PAINTED BY ISLEIFUR KONRAOSSON

ISLEIFUR  KONRAOSSON (1899-1972) 

Hvannadalshnjúkur (2,110m - 6,920ft) 

Iceland

The painter 

Ísleifur Sesselíus Konráðsson is an icelandic artist with a singular career who painted a very limited number of paintings! He spent most of his life working on fishing boats and then until he was 70 years old on freighters between Iceland and North America.

John S. Kjarval exhorted him to paint and to expose for the first time in his life eight of his paintings, considered as" naive"  by the critics, the day of his 73rd birthday. 

The mountain 

Hvannadalshnúkur or Hvannadalshnjúkur  (2,110m - 6,920ft)  is a pyramidal peak on the northwestern rim of the summit crater of the Öræfajökull volcano in Iceland and is the highest in Iceland.   The peak is part of the Vatnajökull National Park.

The route to the top is a popular climb through numerous and frequently hidden crevasses, and, because of this, the climb calls for experienced mountain guides.

2018 - Wandering Vertexes...
Un blog de Francis Rousseau 

SNAEFELL PAINTED BY MUGGUR

MUGGUR (1891-1924) 

Snæfell or Snæfellsjökull  (1,446 m - 4,744 ft)

Iceland

In Snæfellsjökull, 1922, oil on canvas, National Gallery of Iceland

The mountain 
Snæfell or Snæfellsjökull  (1,446 m - 4,744 ft)  (meaning snow-fell glacier) is a 700,000-year-old glacier-capped stratovolcano in western Iceland. The name of the mountain is actually Snæfell, but it is normally called "Snæfellsjökull" to distinguish it from two other mountains with this name. It is situated on the most western part of the Snæfellsnes peninsula in Iceland. Sometimes it may be seen from the city of Reykjavík over Faxa Bay, at a distance of 120 km.
The mountain is one of the most famous sites of Iceland, primarily due to the novel Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864) by Jules Verne, in which the protagonists find the entrance to a passage leading to the center of the earth on Snæfellsjökull. The mountain is included in the Snæfellsjökull National Park (Icelandic: Þjóðgarðurinn Snæfellsjökull).
In August 2012 the summit was ice-free for the first time in recorded history.

The painter 
 Muggur  whose the real name is Guрmundur Petursson Thorsteinsson,  was an Icelandic painter, graphic artist, author and film actor. His younger brothers were all professional football players.
His father, Pétur (1845-1929) was one of the richest men in Iceland. When he was twelve, the family moved to Copenhagen, but they travelled continuously between there and Iceland.
He studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts from 1911 to 1915, but also took study trips to Germany and Italy.  In 1915, he made a visit to the United States, where his works had recently been exhibited;
In addition to his paintings, he wrote and illustrated a children's book, The Story of Dimmalimm, about a young girl and an enchanted swan.  He created numerous drawings inspired by the Eddas as well and created Iceland's first unique deck of playing cards.
He was also a talented amateur actor and had a major role in one of Iceland's first films, Sons of the Soil (Saga Borgarжttarinnar), based on a novel by Gunnar Gunnarsson.
A brief marriage that ended in divorce led him to drink heavily. In 1923, already in deteriorating health, he was kicked in the back by a horse. After a lengthy stay at a spa in France, he returned to the family estate in Denmark and died of a chest ailment (possibly tuberculosis), aged only thirty-two. Most of his works are in the National Gallery of Iceland.

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2018 - Wandering Vertexes...
by Francis Rousseau 

HEKLA PAINTED BY ASGRIMUR JONSSON

ÁSGRIMUR JONSSON (1876–1958)

Hekla (1,488m - 4,882ft) 

Iceland

  In Hekla, 1927, oil on canvas 

The mountain

Hekla or Hecla (1,488m - 4,882ft) is a stratovolcano in the south of Iceland. Hekla is one of Iceland's most active volcanoes; over 20 eruptions have occurred in and around the volcano since 874. During the Middle Ages, Europeans called the volcano the "Gateway to Hell".
Hekla is part of a volcanic ridge, 40 km (25 mi) long. The most active part of this ridge, a fissure about 5.5 km (3.4 mi) long named Heklugjá, is considered to be within Hekla proper.  Hekla looks rather like an overturned boat, with its keel being a series of craters, two of which are generally the most active.
The volcano's frequent large eruptions have covered much of Iceland with tephra, and these layers can be used to date eruptions of Iceland's other volcanoes. Approximately 10% of the tephra created in Iceland in the last thousand years has come from Hekla, amounting to 5 km3. Cumulatively, the volcano has produced one of the largest volumes of lava of any in the world in the last millennium, around 8 km3.
The earliest recorded eruption of Hekla took place in 1104. Since then there have been between twenty and thirty considerable eruptions, with the mountain sometimes remaining active for periods of six years with little pause. Eruptions in Hekla are varied and difficult to predict. Some are very short (a week to ten days) whereas others can stretch into months and years (the 1947 eruption started 29 March 1947 and ended April 1948). But there is a general correlation: the longer Hekla goes dormant, the larger and more catastrophic its opening eruption will be.
The most recent eruption was on 26 February 2000.
Hekla is a popular destination for hiking. Following the most recent eruption the path goes most of the way to the summit;  the walk takes 3 to 4 hours.  In spring, skiing is possible on short routes around the rim of the crater. In summer, there are easy (F) mountaineering routes also around the crater rim,  and it is possible to snowcat to the top in winter. The volcano can be reached using the buses to Landmannalaugar 30 km further east, and it is possible to stay or camp at farms in the area. A visitor centre, The Hekla Center at Leirubakki Farm, opened in 2007.

The painter 
Asgrímur Jónsson was an Icelandic painter, and one of the first in the country to make art a professional living. He studied at the Royal Academy in Copenhagen 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 like Corot. 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. Jónsson influenced many artists in Iceland. A short time before he died he had donated his house in Reykjavík 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. During his lifetime Ásgrímur Jónsson was honoured in many ways. He was made honorary professor at the University of Iceland and, in 1933 he was made Grand Knight of the Icelandic Order of the Falcon. He was an honorary member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts and Knight of Dannebrog, first class. He died in 1958 and was buried in Gaulverjabær.

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2017 - Wandering Vertexes...
by Francis Rousseau 

HEKLA PAINTED BY ÞORANINN B. ÞORLAKSSON

ÞORANINN B. ÞORLAKSSON (1867-1924)

Hekla (1,488m - 4,882ft) 

Iceland

  In Hekla ur Laugardal, 1922, oil on canvas 

The mountain

Hekla or Hecla (1,488m - 4,882ft) is a stratovolcano in the south of Iceland. Hekla is one of Iceland's most active volcanoes; over 20 eruptions have occurred in and around the volcano since 874. During the Middle Ages, Europeans called the volcano the "Gateway to Hell".
Hekla is part of a volcanic ridge, 40 km (25 mi) long. The most active part of this ridge, a fissure about 5.5 km (3.4 mi) long named Heklugjá, is considered to be within Hekla proper.  Hekla looks rather like an overturned boat, with its keel being a series of craters, two of which are generally the most active.
The volcano's frequent large eruptions have covered much of Iceland with tephra, and these layers can be used to date eruptions of Iceland's other volcanoes. Approximately 10% of the tephra created in Iceland in the last thousand years has come from Hekla, amounting to 5 km3. Cumulatively, the volcano has produced one of the largest volumes of lava of any in the world in the last millennium, around 8 km3.
The earliest recorded eruption of Hekla took place in 1104. Since then there have been between twenty and thirty considerable eruptions, with the mountain sometimes remaining active for periods of six years with little pause. Eruptions in Hekla are varied and difficult to predict. Some are very short (a week to ten days) whereas others can stretch into months and years (the 1947 eruption started 29 March 1947 and ended April 1948). But there is a general correlation: the longer Hekla goes dormant, the larger and more catastrophic its opening eruption will be.
The most recent eruption was on 26 February 2000.
Hekla is a popular destination for hiking. Following the most recent eruption the path goes most of the way to the summit;  the walk takes 3 to 4 hours.  In spring, skiing is possible on short routes around the rim of the crater. In summer, there are easy (F) mountaineering routes also around the crater rim,  and it is possible to snowcat to the top in winter. The volcano can be reached using the buses to Landmannalaugar 30 km further east, and it is possible to stay or camp at farms in the area. A visitor centre, The Hekla Center at Leirubakki Farm, opened in 2007.

The Painter 

Þóуrarinn Benedikt Þorlбksson  was one of Iceland's first contemporary painters, the first Icelander to exhibit paintings in Iceland, and recipient of the first public grant that country made to a painter.

He was born in 1867, the 13th of 14 children of a clergyman father, who died when he was just five years old. Originally trained and working as a bookbinder, Þorlбksson studied painting under a Copenhagen-trained Icelandic woman, Thуra Thoroddsen. In 1900 he was awarded a grant by the Icelandic Parliament to study art in Denmark, and he trained there from 1895 to 1899. Returning to Iceland, he held an exhibition of his works at a place perplexingly called Glasgow, in Reykjavik, in the summer of 1900—the first exhibition of Icelandic painting in Iceland. Þorlбksson's principal interest was landscape painting, and perhaps fittingly a dominant subject in this first exhibition of works was Þingvellir, a site of enormous historical significance to Icelanders as the site of their parliaments (which dated back to 930 AD).

Þóуrarinn Þorlбksson continued to paint, holding regular exhibitions until 1911. However, he required a regular income that could not be derived solely from his art. On December 30, 1913, he was appointed by Prime Minister Hannes Hafstein as one of the five people on the committee that designed the Flag of Iceland.  He taught drawing at the Technical College and other institutions in Reykjavik, and was principal of that college from 1916 to 1922. He also ran a shop selling art materials, journals and books until his death. Throughout his life he continued to paint, particularly in the countryside during the summers.

Þorlбksson, together with a small number of other artists including his contemporary Asgrimur Jonsson, confronted and portrayed the landscape of their country on its terms and through Icelandic eyes, rather than through the conventions—and the light—of Western European artistic tradition. In this respect the work of Þorlбksson and Jonsson played a role similar to that of the Heidelberg School in Australia (slightly earlier) and the Group of Seven, Emily Carr and Tom Thomson in Canada (a little later).

2017 - Wandering Vertexes...
by Francis Rousseau 

EIRIKSJÖKULL PAINTED BY ASGRIMUR JONSSON

ASGRIMUR JONSSON (1876-1958) 

Eiríksjökull  (1,675m - 5,495 ft)  

Iceland

In  Strúttur og Eiríksjökul, oil on canvas, 1930, 

The mountain-glacier 
Eiríksjökull  (1675m - 5,495 ft)   (Eirík's glacier) is a glacier north-west of Langjökull in Iceland, with an area of 22 km2 (8.5 sq mi) reaching a height of 1,675 m (5,495 ft), making it the largest table mountain in Iceland.  Rising over 1,000 m (3,300 ft) above its surrounding, the lowest 350 m (1,150 ft) of a hyaloclastite (móberg) tuya formed presumably by a single subglacial volcanic activity is capped by a 750 m (2,460 ft) thick lava shield.  It is currently dormant or extinct in terms of volcanic activity.

The painter 
Asgrímur Jónsson was an Icelandic painter, and one of the first in the country to make art a professional living. He studied at the Royal Academy in Copenhagen 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 like Corot. 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. Jónsson influenced many artists in Iceland. A short time before he died he had donated his house in Reykjavík 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. During his lifetime Ásgrímur Jónsson was honoured in many ways. He was made honorary professor at the University of Iceland and, in 1933 he was made Grand Knight of the Icelandic Order of the Falcon. He was an honorary member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts and Knight of Dannebrog, first class. He died in 1958 and was buried in Gaulverjabær.
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2017 - Wandering Vertexes...
by Francis Rousseau 

THE ESJA BY JOHANNES SVEINSSON KJARVAL

 JOHANNES SVEINSSON KJARVAL (1885-1972) 

The Esja or Esjan  (914 m - 2, 999ft)

Iceland.  

Painted in 1939

The mountain

Esja (914 m - 2,999 ft) often called "Esjan" or "The Esja" is situated in the south-west of Iceland, about 10 km to the north of Iceland's capital city Reykjavik. Esja is not a single mountain, but a volcanic mountain range, made from basalt and tuff. The etymology of the name is unclear. Esja can be used as a first name in Iceland. In the Kjalnesingasaga, there is a rich widow among Irish settlers named Esja, but it is likely that the women's name is derived from the mountain and not vice versa.

The easternmost summits of the mountain range, called Móskarðshnúkar, are of an unusually light colour. An Icelandic writer in the 19th century, so goes the story, hoped to see the sun there after a long period of rain. But when he looked closer, it was only the mountaintops with their colours. In reality, it is the rhyolite stone, often to be found in Icelandic nature near old (and also active) central volcanoes.

Climbing 

Within easy reach of the capital, Esja is a very popular recreation area for hikers and climbers. The best known hiking paths lead to the summits Pverfellshorn (780 m) and Kerhólakambur (851 m). Pverfellshorn is also easily accessible by public transport. The path is divided into sections, marked with signs along the way. Each sign gives an indication of the difficulty of the path ahead with a grade system ranging from 1 boot (easy) to 3 boots (challenging). At the third sign experienced climbers can choose to climb directly to the peak, instead of following the path which goes off to the right. Approximately 6.6 kilometers of walking and 200 meters away from sea level is an point a big rock called Steinn. It is here that most inexperienced climbers choose to go down again, as the path becomes increasingly difficult from there. The highest point, at 914 m, is called Hábunga. From Þverfellshorn, reaching Habunga requires another three-kilometer trek northeast, across a rocky plateau with no directional signs or clear path. As of August 2011, Habunga was marked only by a large cairn with a wooden stick at the top.

The painter
Johannes Sveinsson Kjarval was an Icelandic painter. He is considered one of the most important artists of Iceland. Born in poverty, he was adopted and, as a young man, worked as a fisherman. However, he spent every spare time drawing and painting and managed to learn basics from artist Ásgrímur Jónsson. At age 27 with financial support from fishermen and the Icelandic Confederation of Labour he passed an entrance examination and was admitted to the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts for higher education in the arts where he completed his studies. During the Copenhagen years he became acquainted with various styles including impressionism, expressionism and cubism but he also became an accomplished draughtsman. Later he also took shorter trips to France and Italy.
Kjarval was a prolific painter, leaving thousands of drawings and paintings after a long life. The paintings vary greatly in style and frequently mix different styles into a very personal style. Although not surreal, some of his works include absurd and symbolist elements mixing elves and myths into landscape. Many of his works include Icelandic landscape and lava formation but many of his landscape paintings are partially "cubist" and abstract with his focus on zooming on the closest ground and less the impressive mysterious mountains in the background. Later in his life his art frequently also included abstract painting.
Because of the unique mix of styles, it is an oversimplification to classify him has a landscape painter. His work includes expressionist, abstract, cubist, landscape and portrait paintings and drawings - and his "style promiscuity" was highly original as the man himself was. He was a highly original modernizer of his time and still remains quite unique among Icelandic and world painters. In 1958 he was awarded the Prince Eugen Medal by the King of Sweden.

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2018 - Wandering Vertexes...
by Francis Rousseau 

TINDFJALLAJÖKULL PAINTED BY ASGRIMUR JONSSON

ASGRIMUR JONSSON (1876-1958)

  Tindfjallajökull (1,462m - 4,797ft) 

Iceland

 Painted in 1909

The mountain 
Tindfjallajцkull (1,462m - 4,797ft) is a stratovolcano in the south of Iceland.  It has erupted rocks of basaltic to rhyolitic composition, and a 5-km-wide caldera was formed during the eruption of the 54,000-year-old Thуrsmцrk Ignimbrite. It is capped by a glacier of 19 km2. Its highest peak is Ymir which takes its name from the giant Ymir of Norse mythology. The most recent eruption was at an unknown time in the Holocene. The name means "Tindfjцll glacier". Tindfjцll ("peak mountains") is a ridge that extends to the south of the glacier. The rivers that flow from the glacier are Hvitmaga to the north-east, Gilsa to the south, Porolfsa to the south-west, Vala to the north-west and Blesa to the north. Hvнtmaga, Gilsб and Юуrуlfsб drain into Markarfljot while Vala and Blesa drain into Eystri Ranga.

 The Painter 
Asgrímur Jónsson was an Icelandic painter, and one of the first in the country to make art a professional living. He studied at the Royal Academy in Copenhagen 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 like Corot. 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. Jónsson influenced many artists in Iceland. A short time before he died he had donated his house in Reykjavík 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. During his lifetime Ásgrímur Jónsson was honoured in many ways. He was made honorary professor at the University of Iceland and, in 1933 he was made Grand Knight of the Icelandic Order of the Falcon. He was an honorary member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts and Knight of Dannebrog, first class. He died in 1958 and was buried in Gaulverjabær.


2017 - Wandering Vertexes...
by Francis Rousseau 

HVANNADALSHNUKUR VOLCANO IN VINTAGE POSTCARD 1955

VINTAGE POSTCARD 1955 

Hvannadalshnjúkur (2,109.6 m - 6,921 ft)

Iceland

The volcano

Hvannadalshnjúkur (2,109.6 m - 6,921 ft)  (pronounced KWANNA-dalsh-nyooker) is the highest peak in Iceland. Prior to 2005, it had been stated to be 2,119m but an official survey in 2005 revised this. It is actually the highest point on a crater rim of the volcano, Oræfajökull, located in extreme southeast Iceland only a few kilometers from the Atlantic Ocean. The volcano itself is massive, the largest post-glacial volcano in Iceland and, according to my research, only exceeded in mass by Etna as far as European volcanoes go. But this fact pales in comparison when you consider that Oræfajökull is but a small part of the massive glacier, Vatnajökull.
Vatnajökull (meaning Lake Glacier, named after sub-glacial lakes under its center) is the largest glacier in Iceland and the largest glacial ice cap in Europe. At approximately 8500 square kilometers, it is larger than all of continental Europe's glaciers put together.  This glacier takes up 1/12 of the country of Iceland and contains approximately 3300 cubic kilometers of ice. The average thickness of the glacier is 400 meters with the greatest thickness being over 1100 meters. It is interesting that scientists believe it was not formed during the last great Ice Age but during a cold period about 2500 years ago.
Vatnajökull has had five recorded eruptions with the latest three coming in 1996, 1998 and most recently in 2004.  The 1996 eruption caused large floods taking out bridges and cutting off eastern and western Iceland from each other for a time. Oræfajökull has had two recorded eruptions in 1362 and 1727. The 1362 eruption was the greatest tephra fall in Icelandic history and caused the area's abandonment (the name means something like "glacier wasteland").
Hvannadalshnukur sits adjacent to Skaftafell National Park. Created in 1967, it covers 1700 square kilometers and lies on the west side of the peak between three of Vatnajökull's 46 outlet glaciers (Skeiðararjökull to the west, Morsarjökull to the north and Skaftafellsjökull to the east). To the immediate north of Skaftafell is a finger of land with amazing hikes and sites (see section below for details or click on the link in this paragraph). Skaftafell itself has worthy climbs of both technical rock and glacier and is an oasis of color and life in an area of southeastern Iceland that is so close to a massive drainage of the giant glacier where a huge amount of flat stream-filled sand dominates the coast. Skaftafell enjoys better weather and more sunshine hours than anywhere else in southeastern Iceland as it is protected from wind and rain by the volcano.
Climbing
The first ascent of Hvannadalshnukur was on August 17, 1891 when a British man named Frederick W. W. Howell was guided up by locals Pall Jonsson and Thorlakur Thorlaksson.

Vintage postcards

Postcards became popular at the turn of the 20th century, especially for sending short messages to friends and relatives. They were collected right from the start, and are still sought after today by collectors of pop culture, photography, advertising, wartime memorabilia, local history, and many other categories.
Postcards were an international craze, published all over the world. The Detroit Publishing Co. and Teich & Co. were two of the major publishers in the U.S, and sometimes individuals printed their own postcards as well. Yvon were the most famous in France. Many individual or anonymous publishers did exist around the world and especially in Africa and  Asia (Japan, Thailand, Nepal, China, Java) between 1920 and 1955. These photographer were mostly local notables, soldiers, official guides belonging to the colonial armies (british french, belgium...) who sometimes had rather sophisticated equipment and readily produced colored photograms or explorers, navigators, climbers (Vittorio Sella and the Archiduke of Abruzzi future king of Italy remains the most famous of them).
There are many types of collectible vintage postcards.
Hold-to-light postcards were made with tissue paper surrounded by two pieces of regular paper, so light would shine through. Fold-out postcards, popular in the 1950s, had multiple postcards attached in a long strip. Real photograph postcards (RPPCs) are photographs with a postcard backing.
Novelty postcards were made using wood, aluminum, copper, and cork. Silk postcards–often embroidered over a printed image–were wrapped around cardboard and sent in see-through glassine paper envelopes; they were especially popular during World War I.
In the 1930s and 1940s, postcards were printed on brightly colored paper designed to look like linen.
Most vintage postcard collectors focus on themes, like Christmas, Halloween, portraits of movie stars, European royalty and U.S. presidents, wartime imagery, and photos of natural disasters or natural wonders. Not to mention cards featuring colorful pictures by famous artists like Alphonse Mucha, Harrison Fisher, Ellen Clapsaddle, and Frances Brundage.