A Circumpolar Landscape

'Moving beyond the usual stylistic analysis and interpretation of northern landscape paintings and prints from the late 19th century to the 1930s, Gapp turns to the shared geographical areas and natural environments of Scandinavia and Canada to address a new ecocritical history of art. Putting aside the more traditional focus on National Romanticism in northern landscape paintings, an alternate art historical approach employs a methodology that takes the ecological history and the future impact of climate change into consideration. An important aspect of this book is the consideration of the Indigenous histories connected to the landscapes depicted and a recognition of the impact of colonization. While many writings on northern landscapes focus on male artists, Gapp recognizes several woman, including Kitty Kielland, a Norwegian artist whose paintings of bogs are considered as a “watery landscape" in the chapter “Aqueous Atmospheres.” Several chapters use polar exploration records to delve into the subject of the aurora borealis, as seen in prints and drawings. Excellent notes and bibliography are included. Summing Up: Highly recommended.' – E. M. Hansen, CHOICE

'Gapp’s mobilization of Indigenous perspectives to deconstruct and historicize the rhetoric of these artworks presents a welcome counterweight to the still deep-seated nationalist narratives which center a seemingly timeless depopulated land-scape as their origin.' – Helene Engnes Birkeli, Periskop: Forum for kunsthistorisk debat