Encyclopedia of Romantic Nationalism in Europe

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Sigurður Guðmundsson

  • IcelandicVisual artsHistorical background and context
  • GND ID
    1051924537
    Social category
    Painters, sculptors, architectsInsurgents, activists
    Title
    Sigurður Guðmundsson
    Title2
    Sigurður Guðmundsson
    Text

    The Copenhagen-trained Icelandic artist Sigurður Guðmundsson (Skagafjörður 1833 – Reykjavík 1874), known as “Sigurður málari” (“Sigurður the painter”), was one of the key conduits for nationalistic thought and identity creation in Iceland in the mid-19th century. From 1857 to 1874, he deeply influenced the development of Icelandic cultural traditions by promoting saga-age role-models, medieval aesthetics, and use of vernacular idioms. An advocate and catalyst for the establishment of what would become Iceland’s National Museum and National Theatre, he was also central in the definition and formalization of Icelandic women’s national dress.

    A talented draughtsman at age sixteen, Sigurður was sent to Copenhagen in 1849 to serve an apprenticeship in decorative painting; he abandoned this almost immediately. Konráð Gíslason, a family acquaintance, arranged an introduction to the sculptor Jens Adolf Jerichau (1816–1883), who took the boy in for “pro bono” tutoring, and subsequently introduced him to Gustav Friederich Hetsch (1788–1864), an influential professor of architecture at the Royal Academy. Eventually, Sigurður was tutored at the school of Fredrik F. Helsted (1809–1875) in the morning, by Hetsch in the afternoon, and attended classes with Constantin Hansen (1804–1880), among others, at the Academy in the evening. Sigurður’s portraiture is accordingly influenced by the Danish Academic style of the time.

    Sigurður was inspired by his teachers and intellectual trends in Copenhagen (he admired N.F.S. Grundtvig) to become a painter of Icelandic historical scenes and a writer of Icelandic cultural history. Neither project was to be realized as such. A loss of funds after an Icelandic research trip (1858) forced him to abandon his plan to return to Copenhagen for further study. He did, however, start putting his ideas and energy into practice on his home territory, applying his research toward the definition of women’s national dress, tableaux vivants from Icelandic sagas and other stagecraft, and advocating a Museum of Antiquities.

    His 1857 proposal for a “national” mode of dress for “the higher sort” was developed in the following years by women in his coterie. The resulting costume became what is still Iceland’s high-ceremonial female dress, the skautbúningur (“coif-dress”).

    In early 1861, Sigurður became a founding member of a secretive debating society, Kvöldfélagið (“the Evening Society”), which met until 1874. Its members – young, educated men – became the driving force behind the collection of folklore, tales, and traditional poetry, and the establishment of a popular Icelandic theatre, staging original plays on folkloric themes and translating Shakespeare. Sigurður’s advocacy, mentoring, stagecraft, and collaborations with Society members on theatrical productions in Reykjavík became the impetus for local professional theatre.

    When the Antiquities Collection (Forngripasafnið) was eventually given a charter in 1863, Sigurður, already vocal in proposing such an institution, was recruited as its co-curator by the folklorist (and Evening-Society-member) Jón Árnason. In 1911, this collection would become the National Museum of Iceland, Þjóðminjasafnið). The two men collaborated on its development and maintenance until Sigurður’s death in 1874, despite a deliberate lack of official support, and built up a country-wide network of supporters and correspondents.

    Sigurður’s cultural nationalism became increasingly radical over time. In 1870, his harsh anti-Danish sentiment surfaced in a widely (and anonymously) circulated poem Aldahrollur (“Our Loathsome Age”). At this time, he was also redoubling his efforts to undermine the adoption of “Danish” fashions among the local bourgeoisie. With a small group of his artstudents he designed a light medieval-style gown for young women, the kyrtill (“kyrtle”).

    1874 saw the celebration of 1000 years of settlement in Iceland. It also saw Iceland’s first constitution, delivered by the first Danish monarch to visit Iceland: King Christian IX (1818–1906). Sigurður, with his Evening Society colleague, the photographer Sigfús Eymundsson, worked hard at preparing decorations with “national” imagery for the celebrations at the old parliamentary site of Þingvellir. However, his suspected authorship of Aldarhrollur meant he was excluded from the festivities; in any case, he was already on his death-bed by the time they took place.

    Word Count: 664

    Article version
    1.1.2.2/a
  • Aspelund, Karl; Who controls culture? Power, craft and gender in the creation of Icelandic women’s national dress (doctoral thesis; Boston, MA: Boston University, 2011).

    Auðuns, Jón; Sigurður Guðmundsson málari (Reykjavik: Leiftur, 1950).

    Briem, Páll; “Sigurður Guðmundsson”, Andvari, 15.1 (1889), 1-14.

    Helgesen, Helgi E.; “Æfiágrip Sigurðar málara”, in Helgesen, Helgi E.; Jochumsson, Matthías; Jónsson, Brynjólfur (eds.); Minningarrit eftir Sigurð Guðmundsson málara (Reykjavik: Einar Þórðarson, 1875), 04-05-20.

    Sigurbjörnsson, Lárus; Þáttur Sigurðar málara (Reykjavik: Helgafell, 1954).


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    All articles in the Encyclopedia of Romantic Nationalism in Europe edited by Joep Leerssen are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at https://www.spinnet.eu.

    © the author and SPIN. Cite as follows (or as adapted to your stylesheet of choice): Aspelund, Karl, 2022. " Sigurður Guðmundsson", Encyclopedia of Romantic Nationalism in Europe, ed. Joep Leerssen (electronic version; Amsterdam: Study Platform on Interlocking Nationalisms, https://ernie.uva.nl/), article version 1.1.2.2/a, last changed 20-04-2022, consulted 29-03-2024.