Mt. Esja, seen from Vinaminni by Asgrimur Jonsson, 1910.
My friend Caroline Hatton, a children’s writer and frequent contributor to this blog, visited this museum and took the photos in this post in June 2023.
I love visiting homes-turned-museums, because I can imagine the notable occupants moving through their days and using each area. Hús Ásgríms Jónssonar was the home of Ásgrímur Jónsson (1876-1958), the first Icelandic painterto pursue art for a living.
Before walking from my hotel to the museum, I looked up its location at Bergstaðastræti 74. All I would have to do was go right, left, then right on that Berg… Berg… Berg-something street, and spot the little house halfway down the block. So that’s what I did that lovely 13oC (55oF) morning, turning right on Bergþórugata, where the museum was nowhere to be found. But I walked on, turned left, and left again on the next Berg-something street, and found the place!
The museum is in a small 1928house. When Ásgrímur* died, he left it, with its contents and thousands of his works, to the people of Iceland.
*Icelanders refer to one another by first name, because surnames are patronymic, identifying only the father by his first name: Jónsson means Jón’s son.
Ground-level room in Asgrimur's home.
Inside, I wondered, did he play the piano?
Second ground-level room.
What was his favorite book?
Second ground-level room.
Did a loved one make this quilt for him?
Whole upper-floor studio.
Studio.
When I visited, the temporary exhibition was “A Window in Reykjavík,” a collection of paintings of views out the windows of the artist’s homes in Reykjavik. My favorite was a 1910 painting, “Mt. Esja, seen from Vinaminni” (photo at the top of this post). It shows the view from the house where the painter lived at the time (not the museum house where I stood).
Paint spots on the floor of the studio.
His main source of inspiration was nature. He was also first to draw pictures based on Icelandic sagas, and folk and fairy tales. And he turned out to be a children’s book illustrator when a series of children’s readers illustrated with his art was published, beginning in 1907.
In his studio, I looked at sample copies of books sold on site. The reproductions I liked best were 1910s watercolor landscapes: immense horizons, wild rivers below giant glaciers, moody weather, the kind of vision that keeps drawing me back to Iceland.
FOR MORE INFO
Read Caroline Hatton’s guest posts about Walking Around Reykjavik Part 1 and Part 2.
All text and photos, copyright Caroline Arnold. www.theintrepidtourist.blogspot.com
