The unique Faroese light was Jóannis Kristiansen’s great fascination. Dazzlingly bright, his snow paintings almost blinded you, but he also understood the mild afternoon light that enveloped the village, which he painted more intimately than perhaps anyone else.

Kristiansen’s works bear at times a strong resemblance to those of the French Impressionists. These towering masters fascinated him, but he did not copy them; what he painted, he had also experienced.

Often his works seem to be painted in a hurry—smooth sailing, something easily accomplished. But this was not the case. Often it was a herculean struggle before he let a picture go. He would set it up and put it away times innumerable. He turned the motif over in his head repeatedly. But when he finally reached his goal, it often seemed as if the work had been completed in one brief session. It is precisely this that makes Kristiansen’s work so vivacious and authentic.

Ingálvur av Reyni