Art of the Faroe Islands

The history of Faroese art can only be dated a couple of hundred years back, but despite of this, the islands have a very active art scene. Faroese artists include Sámal Joensen-Mikines, Ingálvur av Reyni, Thomas Arge, Ruth Smith, Janus Kamban, Steffan Danielsen, Tróndur Patursson, Hans Pauli Olsen and Zacharias Heinesen among others.

The Pioneers

The first paintings ever made in the Faroes were by the farmer Díðrikur í Kárastovu, more commonly known as Díðrikur á Skarvanesi (1802-1865), due to the fact that he lived his whole life in the tiny secluded village Skarvanes on the island Sandoy. His subjects were real and imaginary birds in vivid colours. Five of his paintings have been preserved, and are a part of the permanent exhibition in the Faroese art museum, Listaskálin. One of his better paintings is entitled "Moon Doves".

Niels Kruse (1871-1951) was the first Faroese landscape painter, a theme which was to become a significance of Faroese art. Kruse lived in the village Eiði on the island Eysturoy. Kruse was completely self-taught, but had received some help from an American traveller, who stayed in the Faroes during the First World War. In 1924 one of his works was accepted by a gallery in Denmark. This was the very first time a painter had succeeded outside of the Islands. Kruse was also the first painter on the Faroes who managed to make a living from his art.

Other painters from that generation were Kristin í Geil and Jógvan Waagstein both from the Faroese capital Tórshavn. They were both self-taught landscape painters. It is believed that í Geil received schooling from Kruse. These two latter, however, never made their living exclusively from painting.

These painters were all pioneers in the field of visual art in the Faroes, and they were the first to make their fellow countrymen aware of the art of painting.

The beginning

The real history of Faroese art starts in the year 1927. This year, three young artists held an exhibition in Tórshavn. These artists were Sámal Joensen-Mikines (1906-1979), William Heinesen (1900-1990) and Jákup Olsen (1902-1963). The first, Mikines, came to be known as the father of Faroese art and the first Faroese artist to become internationally recognised. Mikines was an expressive figurative painter. He had his education at the Royal Academy of Art in Copenhagen. Mikines was artistically highly inspired by the Norwegian artist Edward Munch, and had a great admiration for El Greco and Delacroix. His early paintings are naturalistic, but later he became very original in his choice of colour and design. Some of his greatest works are psychologically very suggestive. In his paintings Mikines always turns to the Faroes for themes. He painted funerals, steep mountains, landscapes and the dramatic "grindadráp", which is whaling in the Faroe Islands, during which men battle with whales. Through his artistic interpretation of life around him Mikines appealed to the Faroese, and their interest in art was born.

Although Mikines was a huge inspiration there hasn’t been much imitation. Except for a close affinity with the landscape and culture of the Faroe Islands, there has always been great diversity in Faroese art. In the 20th century, Modernism had a great impact upon art. Genres were working toward a pure expression in every field. But the youth of the Faroese art scene meant that such rebellion was never needed. The landscape became the national theme in Faroese painting. The landscape painters experimented with different methods, such as shape, composition and colour. It has been said that, each individual landscape came to represent Faroese nature.

Other pioneers

Mikines wasn't the only one from his generation who received his formal training in Copenhagen. Others who followed included the classical modernist Janus Kamban (b. 1913), the colourist Ruth Smith (1913-1958) and the great abstract painter Ingálvur av Reyni (1920-2005), who is ranked as one of the great modernists in Scandinavia.

The first, Kamban, was the first Faroese sculptor. In style he ranges from the strictly naturalistic to the classically simple. His subjects are usually people, and he uses clay, bronze and basaltic rock for his sculptures. As a graphic artist, Kamban mostly portrays the Faroese landscape.

The second, Smith, was one of the most talented Faroese artists. Her subjects were scenery and faces. She worked very consciously with colour. Over a period of twenty years she painted numerous self-portraits, one has been held as one of the finest portraits in Scandinavian art.

The latter, av Reyni introduced abstract art to the Faroes. His early works were rather naturalistic landscapes, but in the early 1960s he dissolved the romantic and impressionist landscape, when he started to paint more and more abstract. His paintings usually contain a figurative core, which is described by the title of his paintings. As a black-and-white artist, he has drawn many portraits as well as landscapes.

Faroese mainstream art of today

Traditional painting is still the main genre in Faroese art. For decades the most common subject to be found in faroese art was the landscape, and today this legacy still exists. However, it is not as dominant as it used to be. Today this particular field ranges from the abstract to the naturalistic, and has been given a modernist style.

Also, the postmodern interest has appeared in Faroese art, just as it has in neighbouring countries.

Art Galleries

There are a couple of art galleries in the capital Tórshavn including the national art museum Listaskálin. But there are also other art galleries on the Faroes. Some are dedicated to local artists, while others have regular exhibitions. Listaskálin has two exhibitions a year that focus exclusively on Faroese artists. The first one is the spring exhibition in May; the second is the annual Saint Olav's Day exhibition in late July. Whereas the first one exclusively features professional artists, the latter one mainly features amateurs.

See also

* Faroese literature
* Music of the Faroe Islands
* List of Notable Faroese

References

Reading

* Schei, Kjørsvik Liv and Moberg, Gunnie. 1991. The Faroe Islands. ISBN 0-7195-5009-2
* Sørensen, Inger Smærup. 2007. "Faroese Art".

Further reading

* Heinesen, William. "The Art of the Faroe Islands". Tórshavn: E. Thomsen, 1983.
* Irve, Bent. "Føroysk list = Färöisk konst = Art from the Faroes". Helsinki: Nordiskt konstcentrum, 1983. ISBN 9519575553

External links

* [http://www.art.fo The Faroe Islands National Art Museum] - The Faroe Islands National Art Museum
* [http://www.faroearts.com faroearts] - shows and sells the work of Faroese artists
* [http://www.bryggenart.com/en/ BryggenArt] - Art from the North Atlantic
* [http://www.faroeseart.com FaroeseArt - Færøsk Kunst] - Faroese Art exhibitions outside and inside the Faroe Islands da icon
* [http://www.karisvensson.com Kári Svensson] - painter artist
* [http://www.gudrunoggudrun.com GudrunogGudrun] - Faroese design