This year marks the 120 anniversary of the birth of Jón Kaldal (1896-1981), who was for decades Iceland’s most famous portrait photographer. To many his name was synonymous with photography in Iceland.
Honouring his legacy The National Museum of Iceland is showcasing two exhibitions featuring his works this winter (24 September 2016 to 31 January 2017).
People were always the raw material in Kaldal’s picture making. Many of his portraits are considered iconic in Iceland and faces of some Icelandic artist are solely known from his photos.
His studio was located for half a century on Laugavegur street in the heart of downtown Reykjavík. Well known local artists often stopped by needing a portrait, perhaps they were holding an exhibition and wanted a photograph for the catalogue, or were publishing a book and needed an author photo. Some of them were just calling by for a chat but Kaldal put them in front of the camera anyway and took their picture. Some he captured again and again through the decades creating a beautiful series of how life transforms a person.
But of course Kaldal also photographed various other types of people. If he noticed an interesting face on the street he often asked people to visit his studio for a photo session. He used a very simple lighting technique, one light bulb, sometimes two or three or even just the daylight. Often only shooting one or two frames, capturing the images on a glass plate in his large format wooden-box and three-wheeled camera.
Among his favourite motives were old bearded farmers, with faces weathered by hard work and the unforgiving Icelandic elements.
Early in his career Kaldal also took a considerable number of pictures outside his studio using a field camera with glass plates. That part of his archive is still much less well known than the portraits, but keeps a very interesting story. The National Museum of Iceland's curators have put together an exhibition that features some great photos from this period.
The main exhibition features however Kaldal’s iconic portraits. The prints are his originals, made by him with his assistants in 1966, for a large retrospective exhibition in Reykjavík. It was the first exhibition of photographs by held be an individual in Iceland.
Both exhibitions will open at the National Museum of Iceland Saturday September 24 and will run until the end of January 2017.
Disclosure: Jón Kaldal was the grandfather of Jón Kaldal, who is the editor of Iceland Insider.
This year marks the 120 anniversary of the birth of Jón Kaldal (1896-1981), who was for decades Iceland’s most famous portrait photographer. To many his name was synonymous with photography in Iceland.
Honouring his legacy The National Museum of Iceland is showcasing two exhibitions featuring his works this winter (24 September 2016 to 31 January 2017).
People were always the raw material in Kaldal’s picture making. Many of his portraits are considered iconic in Iceland and faces of some Icelandic artist are solely known from his photos.
His studio was located for half a century on Laugavegur street in the heart of downtown Reykjavík. Well known local artists often stopped by needing a portrait, perhaps they were holding an exhibition and wanted a photograph for the catalogue, or were publishing a book and needed an author photo. Some of them were just calling by for a chat but Kaldal put them in front of the camera anyway and took their picture. Some he captured again and again through the decades creating a beautiful series of how life transforms a person.
But of course Kaldal also photographed various other types of people. If he noticed an interesting face on the street he often asked people to visit his studio for a photo session. He used a very simple lighting technique, one light bulb, sometimes two or three or even just the daylight. Often only shooting one or two frames, capturing the images on a glass plate in his large format wooden-box and three-wheeled camera.
Among his favourite motives were old bearded farmers, with faces weathered by hard work and the unforgiving Icelandic elements.
Early in his career Kaldal also took a considerable number of pictures outside his studio using a field camera with glass plates. That part of his archive is still much less well known than the portraits, but keeps a very interesting story. The National Museum of Iceland's curators have put together an exhibition that features some great photos from this period.
The main exhibition features however Kaldal’s iconic portraits. The prints are his originals, made by him with his assistants in 1966, for a large retrospective exhibition in Reykjavík. It was the first exhibition of photographs by held be an individual in Iceland.
Both exhibitions will open at the National Museum of Iceland Saturday September 24 and will run until the end of January 2017.
Disclosure: Jón Kaldal was the grandfather of Jón Kaldal, who is the editor of Iceland Insider.
