A r t i s t i c E x c e l l e n c e S c h o l a r s h i p C o n s e r v a t i o n I n t e g r i t y
A R T C O L L E C T I O N
About
Every Moment is a Memory
Title:
"In Nature", 1963
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Artist:
Jóhannes S. Kjarval
(1885–1972)
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Type:
Oil on canvas
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Size:
75 x 90 cm
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Signed:
Lower right
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RHA I.D.#:
RHA-03-2025-175
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Provenance:
Bruun Rasmussen, Bredgade Modern Art, March 2025 Auction 925 - Lot 75
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Acquired by the previous owner's family in Iceland directly from the artist.
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"...Kjarval spent the winter of 1911–12 in London, working on his own. There he encountered the art of Turner, whose atmospheric studies of ships both fascinated and influenced him. From London Kjarval went to Copenhagen, where he was accepted at the Royal Academy in 1914. The Academy failed to curb Kjarval's highly individualistic temperament, which found its outlet in paintings and drawings of a startling variety, ranging from naturalistic landscape studies, through symbolism, to near abstract compositions. After his return to Iceland in 1919, Kjarval spent the next decade trying to find a way of expressing his feelings about the Icelandic landscape, not only as an objective natural phenomenon but also as a collection of forces which had shaped, and in the process had become an extension of the Icelandic psyche.
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Aðalsteinn Ingólfsson, "Arts and Culture in Iceland - A Century of Icelandic Art", © 1990, p. A5.
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Photo of the artist
Jóhannes S. Kjarval, c.1920
Photo of the artist
Jóhannes S. Kjarval, 1934
Jóhannes Sveinsson Kjarval was an Icelandic painter and is considered one of the most important artists of Iceland. Born into poverty, Kjarval was adopted and as a young man worked as a fisherman. He spent his spare time drawing and painting, and learned basic skills 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, where he completed his studies. During his time in Copenhagen, he became acquainted with various styles including Impressionism, Expressionism, and Cubism, as well as becoming an accomplished draughtsman. Later, he also took trips to France and Italy.
Kjarval was a prolific painter, leaving thousands of drawings and paintings. The paintings vary greatly in style and frequently mix different styles. Although not surreal, some of his works include absurd and symbolist elements, mixing elves and myths into landscape. Many of his works include Icelandic landscapes and lava formations while some of his landscape paintings are partially "cubist" and abstract with a focus on the jagged lava-formed ground rather than the mountains in the background. Later in his life his art became more abstracted.
In 1958, he was awarded the Prince Eugen Medal by the King of Sweden. In Reykjavík, one of three buildings belonging to the Reykjavík Art Museum is called Kjarvalsstaðir after the artist and presents Kjarval's works alongside temporary exhibitions. In 2000 the artist portrait was depicted on the Icelandic 2000 króna banknote.
The artist is represented in these public institutions:
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MoMA
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National Museum of Iceland
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Kjarvalsstaðir at Reykjavík Art Museum
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Nasjonalgalleriet, Oslo
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National Galery of Denmark (SMK)
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Akureyri Art Museum
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The United Nations art collection
Jóhannes S. Kjarval (1885–1972)
