|
President of Iceland Kristján Eldjárn
(1916 - 1982)
The portrait bust of Kristján Eldjárn was modelled from May to September 1978. President Eldjárn came to sit for his portrait on more than thirty occasions, which was highly unusual. The artist's family was in no doubt that the busy president's many visits had much to do with the fast developing friendship and mutual interests of the artist and his sitter. This portrait can be compared to the portrait of Jon Krabbe, where intimacy and certain personal details reflecting the friendship between artist and model are inextricably wedded to the studied formality of the official portrait. Kristján Eldjárn studied archeology at the University of Copenhagen from 1936 to 1939 and the Icelandic language and philology at the University of Iceland. In 1957 he completed his Ph.D. with a thesis on his archaeological excavations of heathen burial mounds in Iceland. In 1947 he was appointed Director of the Icelandic National Museum, a post that he occupied until 1968, when he was elected President of Iceland. Kristján Eldjárn was highly respected for his contributions to Icelandic history and archeology, both at home and abroad, and as President he became a symbol of national unity. Kristján Eldjárn was Iceland's third President, occupying this post from 1968 to 1980. Sculptor Sigurjón Ólafsson and his Portraits Sigurjón Ólafsson Museum 2008, ISBN 978-87-88755-05-03 |