This exhibition is an endeavor to show the most important trends of Icelandic art in the twen- tieth century. At the turn of the century only two Icelanders were studying painting, Thórarinn B. Thorláksson and Ásgrímur Jónsson, both in Denmark. Shortly afterwards Jón Stefánsson and Jóhannes S. Kjarval followed, and in 1912 two young women, Júlíana Sveinsdóttir and Kristín Jónsdóttir, joined this pio- neering group. Soon after the country obtained its independence in 1918 several young people went abroad to study painting and sculpture. Two exhi- bitions of Icelandic art, the first in Copenhagen in 1927 and the second in Berlin in 1928, crowned these efforts. These were the first exhibitions show- ing a survey of Icelandic art ever to be held abroad. During the period between 1930 and the Second World War three similar exhibitions were held abroad, all of them in the Scandinavian countries. Since the re-establishment of the Republic of Iceland in 1944 numerous large exhibitions of Ice- landic art have been held in foreign countries: in Norway, Belgium, Denmark, Poland and the U.S.S.R., and now this one in the United States. In addition to these general exhibitions Icelandic artists have exhibited their work singly and together with foreign artists in almost all the capitals of Europe. Iceland was first settled in 874. Its settlers consisted mainly of pagan chieftains immigrat- ing from Norway and of Christian Irishmen. We know that art was practiced here from the beginning of the first settlement. The sagas tell us of huge wooden buildings, decorated on the inside by carvings relating stories. We have some rem- nants of these old panelings. One of them is a large picture of the Last Judgment of the Byzantine type, carved in the eleventh century. Only a few good examples from the twelfth cen- tury have come down to us. The most important of these works is the carved wooden door from Valth- jófsstadir of c. 1200. The thirteenth century was the time of the great saga writing. In that century the famous Icelandic sagas were composed. Among those are the Vin- land sagas, which tell us of the first discoverers of America: the Icelanders Leifur Eiríksson and Thorfinnur Karlsefni. Vínland was the name given by these Icelanders to the newly discovered coun- try. Snorri Sturluson wrote his edda and heim- skringla during that period. This was one of the most creative epochs in Iceland, but at the same time the most destructive. In the thirteenth century Iceland lost its independence. The art which has come down to us from that century shows that, al- though the standard of the art of the period cannot be compared with that of literature, some fine works of art were created. Some important book illumina- tions remain from the thirteenth century, and from the fourteenth century there still remain a great deal of illuminated manuscripts. The above-mentioned big houses were on festive occasions adorned with hangings, most likely with

(1) Kápa
(2) Kápa
(3) Blaðsíða [1]
(4) Blaðsíða [2]
(5) Blaðsíða [3]
(6) Blaðsíða [4]
(7) Blaðsíða [5]
(8) Blaðsíða [6]
(9) Blaðsíða [7]
(10) Blaðsíða [8]
(11) Blaðsíða [9]
(12) Blaðsíða [10]
(13) Blaðsíða [11]
(14) Blaðsíða [12]
(15) Blaðsíða [13]
(16) Blaðsíða [14]
(17) Blaðsíða [15]
(18) Blaðsíða [16]
(19) Blaðsíða [17]
(20) Blaðsíða [18]
(21) Blaðsíða [19]
(22) Blaðsíða [20]
(23) Blaðsíða [21]
(24) Blaðsíða [22]
(25) Blaðsíða [23]
(26) Blaðsíða [24]
(27) Blaðsíða [25]
(28) Blaðsíða [26]
(29) Blaðsíða [27]
(30) Blaðsíða [28]
(31) Blaðsíða [29]
(32) Blaðsíða [30]
(33) Blaðsíða [31]
(34) Blaðsíða [32]
(35) Blaðsíða [33]
(36) Blaðsíða [34]
(37) Blaðsíða [35]
(38) Blaðsíða [36]
(39) Blaðsíða [37]
(40) Blaðsíða [38]
(41) Blaðsíða [39]
(42) Blaðsíða [40]
(43) Kápa
(44) Kápa
(45) Kvarði
(46) Litaspjald