Galdramaður
Ásmundur Sveinsson
- Year : 1946
- Height : 66 cm
- Width : cm
- Category : Skúlptúr
- Sub-category : Gifsmynd
Ásmundur initially created this piece in plaster, but later cast it in bronze. Here he abandons traditional naturalistic approach, the formal language is more reminiscent of shapes and phenomena from nature – a landscape eroded by weather and wind. As in various other pieces of this period, Ásmundur’s theme is drawn from Icelandic folklore. It is not known whether the artist intended to depict a specific sorcerer, and hence we must interpret the work as having a broader meaning. Scholar Sigurður Nordal wrote in his Book of Folktales: “Sorcerers had to be trained in their arts at the Black School (the Sorbonne in Paris), or learn from older sorcerers, or from books such as Gráskinna or Rauðskinna. They became learned or wise, or knew further than the end of their nose, knew more than the Lord’s Prayer, etc.”
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