Oslo: Vigeland Sculpture Park

Here’s the rub: It’s a beautiful day in Oslo (summer, preferably), and you want to be outdoors in the fresh and sunlit air, perhaps have a picnic on the grass, stroll and enjoy the sights. But you also want some culture, a bit of art, yet not be cooped up in a museum on such a glorious day. Where do you go? The Vigeland Sculpture Park, part of the Frogner Park, located in Oslo, is one of the most popular and visually compelling places to visit in Norway’s capital. 

Three kilometers northwest of the Oslo city center, the park covers 80 acres and features 212 bronze and granite sculptures by Gustav Berg. Each figure was personally sculpted out of clay by Vigeland and individual craftsmen were contracted to fabricate the pieces into what visitors see today. These works of art reside along an 850 meter-long axis divided into six sections: The Main Gate, The Bridge, The Children’s Playground, The Fountain, The Monolith Plateau and The Wheel of Life.

The Main Gate is made of forged granite and wrought iron and serves as an entrance to the park itself. It consists of five large gates, two small pedestrian gates and two copper-roofed gate houses, both adorned with weather-vanes. Financed by a Norwegian bank, The Main Gate was erected in 1926. Walking along the 328 feet long, 49 feet wide Bridge, you will encounter 58 of the park’s sculptures. The Bridge serves as a connection between the Main Gate and the Fountain. All of the sculptures are bronze-clad and contribute to the “Human Condition” theme of the park. One of the Oslo Park’s more popular statues, Sinnataggen, or “The Little Angry Boy.” This was the first part of the park to be opened to the public, in 1940. While most of the Oslo Park was still under construction, visitors could enjoy these sculptures.

Next one arrives at the Children’s Playground, located at the end of the bridge. This is a collection of eight bronze statues, all representing children at play. In the center, mounted on a granite column, is a representation of a fetus. One cannot say that there is no attention to truth.After the Children’s Playground is the Fountain, fabricated from bronze and adorned with 60 individual bronze reliefs. It portrays children and skeletons in the arms of giant trees, symbolizing new life emerging from death. It took Vigeland from 1906 to 1947 to establish this monument in Oslo.

Finally, you arrive at the Monolith Plateau and the Monolith. The Monolith Plateau is a platform made of stairs housing the Monolith totem itself. Thirty-six figure groups reside on the elevation carrying with them the “circle of life” message. Eight figural gates forged in wrought iron give access to the Plateau. They were designed in Oslo between 1933 and 1937 and erected shortly after Vigeland died in 1943.

The Monolith (Monolitten) is unquestionably the most popular attraction in the park. As the name suggests, the work is created from one solid piece of stone. This massive work was begun in 1924 when Vigeland himself modeled the monument out of clay in his Frogner studio. The design process took ten months. Then the model was cast in plaster. In 1927, a block of granite weighing several hundred tons was delivered to the Oslo park from a stone quarry in Halden and was erected the following year, protected against the elements by a wooden shed. It took 14 years and three stone carvers, beginning in 1929, to transfer the figures. The Monolith towers 46.32 feet high and comprises 121 human figures rising heavenward. This is meant to symbolize man’s desire to become closer to the spiritual and the divine. The tightly embraced nude figures convey a feeling of togetherness as they all make their way to salvation.

At the end of the park’s 850-meter-long axis is a sundial, forged in 1930. This is followed the Wheel of Life, completed between 1933-34. It is essentially a wreath depicting four people and a baby floating in harmony. It symbolizes eternity and suggests the Oslo park’s overall theme, which is man’s journey from cradle to grave.

Marvelous and powerful as these works are, not everyone has appreciated the sculptures. In March 2007, this park in Oslo was defaced when an anonymous person or persons affixed black strips of paper to every exposed nipple, crotch, and posterior on the park’s sculptures. As always, there is no accounting for taste.

For more information on Oslo, visit http://www.blogoslo.com and http://www.oslomicroblog.com.