Color photo of monument to Tómas, larger version.

Tómas Sæmundsson. This bronze medallion is found on the east face of the monument to Tómas's memory that was erected on the initiative of his Fjölnir colleagues (see 7F139-40, 8F83) and stands in the churchyard at Breiðabólsstaður, where Tómas was pastor from 1835 until his death in 1841. For a full description of the monument, see KMÍ92.

The medallion is a replica in bronze of the original profile portrait in marble — the only surviving representation of Rev. Tómas — sometimes attributed to the Danish sculptor Herman Vilhelm Bissen (1798-1868). This marble disc was removed from Tómas's monument in 1929 because of its deteriorating condition and is now in the keeping of the Listasafn Íslands in Reykjavík. See Halldór J. Jónsson, "Myndir af Tómasi Sæmundssyni," Árbók Hins íslenzka fornleifafélags 1998 (Reykjavík: Hið íslenzka fornleifafélag, 2000), pp. 35-45.

Source: Photo Dick Ringler.

Copyright © 1996-8 Dick Ringler. All rights reserved.

Jonas' MS flourish for the end of a poem For technical assistance:
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