Thingvellir (1897) by the British painter William Collingwood (1819-1903). Collingwood was a well known watercolor landscape painter and depicted here the Althing (Alþingi) in medieval Iceland, which was probably the oldest parliament in Europe. I think that it’s intentional how people and tents are integrated into the landscape, so that this archaic democratic tradition becomes part of it.
young Russians & 1917 Revolution
13 hours ago
Collingwood was good, wasn't he? I love reading history from art, as if the art was a text. Of course the artist may use some fanciful images in his/her work, but then so do chronicle writers. We have to read all primary sources very carefully.
ReplyDeleteCollingwood was good indeed. I like especially that he stayed away from that heroic shit which was so fashionable at his time.
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