Icelandic Artists at the Tree of Knowledge

Jóhannes S. Kjarval was one of the pioneers of Icelandic modern art. It is often said that this beloved artist helped his fellow Icelanders recognize the distinct beauty of the country, in particular the beauty that may be found at each footstep. Kjarval studied at the Royal Academy in Copenhagen from 1913–1917 and stayed in Denmark until 1922 when he moved to Iceland with his family. He also resided for short periods in England, Italy and France. Kjarval was influenced by Symbolism and Cubism early on as may be seen in his painting Icelandic artists at the Tree of Knowledge which in some ways recalls Jais Nielsen’s cubist painting The Circus Performance. Acrobats. Kjarval’s imagery is simplified and stylized with geometric shapes and a subjective use of colours. The painting depicts, from a high viewpoint, a stage where light-coloured riders on horses surround a mysterious tree. As noted in the book Kjarval from 2008, the work presents Kjarval’s thoughts on Icelandic artists’ conditions as well as biblical themes as indicated by the work’s Danish title, Foran paradiset (In Front of Paradise). The Icelandic title refers to the tree of knowledge of good and evil, and the work may have been inspired by William Blake's illustrations for Dante’s The Divine Comedy, especially the picture Archangel Raphael with Adam and Eve, with horses and the tree of knowledge in the background. Jóhannes S. Kjarval represented Iceland at the Venice Biennale in 1960, along with sculptor Ásmundur Sveinsson.