The Elf Queen Harnesses the Horse

Finnur Jónsson drew inspiration, among other things, from Icelandic folk heritage and created numerous artworks connected to supernatural beings such as ghosts, trolls, elves, and the hidden people.

The title of the work, The Elf Queen Harnesses the Horse, refers to a poem by Grímur Thomsen (1820–1896). Grímur’s poetry enjoyed great popularity in Iceland in the 19th century, and many songs have been composed to his poems, for example Á Sprengisandi, which is still familiar to most Icelanders today.

Here, Finnur renders a line from the poem in a powerful way: at the center of the image, a purple horse with a light mane throws its head back and appears difficult to control. In the foreground stands a barefoot woman with long blond hair, stretching her arms toward the horse’s head in order to gain control of it. Her posture is composed: she bends her knees slightly, places her toes lightly on the ground, and leans toward the horse. Her face is turned toward the horse’s face, and her light hair does not stir despite the animal’s unruliness.

Finnur’s use of color lends the work a supernatural quality, and the thin oil paint creates a translucent texture in the pale pink garments of the elf queen. The horse is purple, and the background is not a conventional landscape; instead, color is used to create mood. Yellow, green, and red tones form circular shapes and generate a strong sense of movement across the picture plane.

Black outlines are prominent in the work, a stylistic feature characteristic of German Expressionism, which had a strong influence on Finnur and can be found in many of his works.

Despite the elf queen’s splendor, which captivates at first glance, caution is still advised when dealing with such a hidden being, for as the next line of the poem warns: it is not good to cross her path.