Beauty and Threat

The Effect of the Icelandic Landscape on the Works of Icelandic Landscape Painters

Abstract

This research paper explores the subject of topophilia – a strong sense of place – as it relates to the effects of geography, environment and social influences on the works of Icelandic painters. Regarding Iceland specifically, I was interested in how the striking duality of beauty and threat affects the artist’s psyche and vision as it relates to a painted landscape. Certainly, artists world-wide are inspired by their surroundings, either beautiful or terrible, but few people have a more intimate relationship with their surroundings than Icelanders. Few countries are as homogenic as Iceland – most of the population is related to one another within eight generations and most are distantly related to the handful of settlers who arrived in 874 AD. Historically, Iceland has been socially and geographically cut off from the rest of the world, viewed as little more than a tax base by Denmark until WWII, followed by its subsequence independence in 1944. Because of its isolation, Iceland’s history of fine art is a short one – less than 200 years. These factors, along with its history of volcanic activity make Iceland a compelling study. My purpose was to explore how experience, place, geography and landscape drill into peoples’ psyches and percolates, to later emerge from the subconscious as imagery. It is my hypothesis that deep connections to this strange and beautiful landscape – this juxtaposition between beauty and threat – would emerge and that it would relate to the fine art that Icelandic artists produce.

Faculty Mentor: Annetta Latham

Department: Arts and Cultural Management