On a trip to Iceland, where we visited 4 different towns/cities, i encountered a sculpture in Isafjördur that puzzled me (specialy the cloak looking like an old woman) and took some pictures.
A few day's later we visited Reykjavik and in a park i saw that same sculpture again by the Sculptor Einar Jónsson. There is also a museum about Einar Jónsson in Reykjavik, we visited the sculpture garden.
"Sculptor Einar Jónsson (1874-1954) was one of the artists who laid the foundation to modern art in Iceland at the start of the 20th century, and the first Icelander to make sculpture his main occupation. Einar was born in Galtafell in Hrunamannahreppur in Árnes District and brought up by his parents who were farmers. He went to Copenhagen to study at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts from 1896 to 1899. During his study years, he travelled to Rome where he stayed for a year and polished his ideas about the role of the artist. He often sought inspiration for his work from mythical motifs. In 1909, Einar offered to donate his whole collection to the Icelandic people, with the condition that a museum be built for them. The museum was built according to the artist’s own plans, but the blueprint was signed by architect Einar Erlendsson in 1916. The Einar Jónsson Museum was opened on Midsummer’s Day, 23 June in 1923, the first art museum in Iceland. Einar chose the location on Skólavörðuhæð, which at the time was a deserted hill on the outskirts of town. The museum was the first building on the hill, which was the highest vantage point of the town. Einar and his contemporaries saw Skólavörðuhæð as the “Acropolis of Iceland”."
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visit link)
Page about the replica in Isafjördur:
It is a blog post writen by someone who lived in Isafjördur for one year.
"Screaming Statue
Úr Álögum (Breaking the Spell II) is a provocative and intricate rendering of St. George and the dragon, by Iceland’s foremost sculptor Einar Jónsson. The naked woman curled on George’s arm is the Libyan princess he spared from being sacrificed to the dragon. A shriveled female figure, a symbol of the dragon’s curse, is morphed into a cloak that the princess casts off as the dragon’s head is pierced by George’s sword.
title under the picture: Although I have never heard it, the locals say the statue screams when the wind blows the right way!"
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Page about the original statue in Reykjavik
"Overlooking the pond is ‘The Spell Broken’. Many connect it to the legend of St. George and the dragon, where St. George slew the dragon so he could save the princess from being eaten by it. In fact it is a mixture of a few old legends. Einar sometimes took pieces from different folk tales and religious fables and pieced them together to fit what he wanted to say. It depicts the victory of good over evil, and the rewards that follow when you choose the right path. Here the young woman is freed from an evil spell when the dragon is slain. She sheds the skin of the old crone she was cursed to look like and revealed is her beautiful true form. The statue was unveiled here in 1987."
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visit link)