Thjórsá River, Mt. Hekla in the Evening Sun 1918

Asgrimur Jonsson’s "Thjórsá River, Mt. Hekla in the Evening Sun" is a painting, likely done in oil, that feels like a memory being formed. The colours are muted, earthy tones, and the brushstrokes are visible, almost hurried. Look at how the paint is applied in thick dabs, especially in the foreground. The texture invites a sense of the physical landscape, the rough and uneven terrain of Iceland. The colour around the horses looks like it was glazed, and then wiped. I think this adds to that feeling of a memory. Take, for example, the horse in the center. See how the colors bleed into one another? It’s not about perfect representation; it’s about capturing a feeling, an impression. The process here is totally out in the open. It puts me in mind of Gauguin, but maybe a bit more grounded, and more in love with the land itself. Ultimately, this piece reminds us that art is not just about what we see, but how we experience the world around us.