Ásmundar Sveinsson
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Ásmundar Sveinsson was an Icelandic sculptor, was born at Kolsstadir in West Iceland on May 20,1893 and died in Reykjavík on December 9, 1982.
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[edit] Early years
In 1915 Ásmundar moved to Reykjavík where he enrolled in the Technical College of Iceland and apprenticed with sculptor Ríkardur Jónsson. In 1919 he relocated to Copenhagen, Denmark, and from there to Stockholm, Sweden, where he enrolled in the Academy of Fine Arts where he remained for six years, much of it spent studying with sculptor Carl Milles.
In 1924 he married sculptor Gunnfrídur Jónsdóttir. After graduating from the Academy, Ásmundar moved to Paris, France where he continued his study, here under the sculptor Charles Despiau.
[edit] Work
Ásmundar returned to Iceland in 1929 and began producing a series of abstracted figurative works. His themes were often men and women at work and included such pieces as, The Blacksmith, the Washer Women and The Water Carrier. During the 1940s Ásmundar's work moved even farther away from the human and animal form that had been his mainstay until then and by the 1950s he was producing work that was almost entirely abstract.
Like many Icelandic artists Ásmundar drew upon the traditions of his native country when seeking subjects to inspire him. These include Trollwoman, (1948), Head Ransom, (1948), based on a poem that Egil Skallagrimsson composed to save his own head and Hell-Ride, (1944) taken from the Prose Edda of Snorri Sturlusson.
In 1933 Ásmundar began building his studio/home and continued adding geometric shaped additions to it through the 1950s. When he died he bequeathed the structure and the works that it contained to the city of Reykjavík, where it now houses the Ásmundar Sveinsson Museum.
[edit] Images
All these works are located Reykjavík, Iceland.
 Sæmundur and the Seal, 1926 |
 Moorland Flight, 1933 |
 Woman Churning Butter, 1934 |
 The Blacksmith, 1936 |
 Mother Earth, 1936 |
 Rescue, 1936 |
 The Sisters, 1936 |
 Washer Woman, 1937 |
 Washer Woman, detail |
 The Water Carrier, 1937 |
[edit] References
- Kvaran, Gunnar B. curator, Style in the Art of Ásmundar Sveinsson, Ásmundarsafn, Listasafn Reykjavíkur, Reykjavík Municipal Museum, 1995
- Statues, Outdoor Sculptures and Galleries in Reykjavík, Cultural Committee of the City of Reykjavík and the Reykjavík Tourism Commission
