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Last updated on 27 January 2000
(Try also
walk1.html, a somewhat revised walking tour through Vigeland's Sculpture Park)
Our permanent
address can always be found at: http://go.to/vigeland
One of the artistic highlights of Norway
is the Sculpture Park in Oslo. The park contains 192 sculptures with more
than 600 figures, all modeled in full size by Gustav Vigeland without the
assistance of pupils or other artists. Vigeland also designed the architectural
setting and the layout of the grounds.
The initial point of the park sculptures was the Fountain. A model was
presented in 1907 to the city counsel and Gustav Vigeland was commissioned
to make a Fountain. But as the time passed and not enough money was raised
yet, Vigeland added many more sculptures to the project - granite sculptures
that eventually were placed around the later Monolith. In 1924, the City
of Oslo decided that the whole project should be fulfilled in the Frogner
Park, later called Vigeland Park. In
1931 followed a renewal of the bridge over the Frogner ponds with the addition
of numerous sculptures on the parapets and grounds. For the rest of his
life, Vigeland continued to model new sculptures for the park until his
death in 1943.
Gustav Vigeland
was born in 1869 in the south-coast town of Mandal in Norway. Vigeland's
artistic talents were first revealed in his drawings and woodcarvings and
at the age of fifteen, his father took him to Oslo to apprentice him to
a master. The death of his father only two years later forced Vigeland to
return to Mandal and relinquish all hopes of becoming a sculptor. In 1888,
Vigeland was again back in the capital, this time taking with him a bundle
of sketches for statues, groups and reliefs, their motifs mostly deriving
from Greek mythology and the Bible. The sculptor, Brynjulf Bergslien, impressed
by his drawings, took him into his studio and gave him his first practical
training.
The work of Auguste Rodin, seen by Vigeland on visits to the artist's studio in Paris, made a perceptible impact. Rodin's intimate treatment of his relationship between man and woman was also influential in Vigeland's life-long development of this theme.
"I was a sculptor before I was born. I was driven and lashed onward
by powerful forces outside myself. There was no other path, and no matter
how hard I might have tried to find one, I would have been forced back again."
The column, 14.12 meters (46 feet) high carved out of a
single block of stone, consists of 121 figures. Modeled by Vigeland in the
years 1924-25, it took three stone carvers from 1929 to 1943 to complete
the Monolith, just shortly before Vigeland died. The column is completely
covered by human figures in relief, singly or in groups. At the bottom there
are seemingly inert bodies. Above them figures ascent in a spiral, the movement
halting midway and then rising at a fast pace towards the summit which is
covered by small children. Various interpretations of the Monolith have
been suggested: Man's resurrection, the struggle for existence, Man's yearning
for for spiritual spheres, the transcendence of everyday life and cyclic
repetition.
Surrounding the Monolith are 36 groups in granite depicting the cycle of life. Every sculpture includes at least two figures depicting Man in a variety of typical human situations and relationships. A man and woman sit facing one another with a little child between them. Children play, young men and women dream and embrace. Old age is represented in several groups. The groups show a certain variation in composition and form. Initially, Vigeland wanted to retain the volume of the granite block. The figures from this early period are broad and simple with a minimal of detail. Later, however, he introduced greater differentiation of composition and figure style and more space was allowed between figures. Although a skilled carver himself, Vigeland did not sculpt directly in granite. He modeled the groups in full size and employed professional artisans to do the time-consuming work of transferring the original models into stone.
The
Fountain is the earliest sculpture unit in the park. In the center of the
basin, six giants hold the large saucer-shaped vessel aloft and from it
a curtain of water spills down around them. The men, representing different
ages, may be interpreted as toiling with the burden of life and the effort
expended in lifting the heavy vessel varies. Water, a universal symbol of
fertility, is used within the fountain complex in a meaningful juxtaposition
with the twenty "tree groups" on the surrounding parapet, the
latter evidently symbolizing the "tree of life."
The combination of human beings and trees in two meter high sculptures
is one of Vigeland's most original concepts. The tree groups represent a
romantic expression of Man's relationship to nature. The also form the setting
for life's evolving stages, stretching from childhood and adolescence through
adulthood to old age and death.
58 bronze sculptures on granite parapets (1926-1933) stand on either side of the Bridge portraying people of widely differing ages, although there is less emphasis on old age than others in the park. Many characteristic representations of children are noticeable. Dominant motifs among the groups are the relationships between man and woman and between adults and children. In one sculpture you find a bronze wheel enclosing a man and woman linked together in a rotating movement. The circle being a well-known symbol of eternity, the sculpture may indicate the constant attraction and love between the sexes or a figurative version of the Eastern symbol of "Yin and Yang."
After finishing the 58 sculptures for the bridge in the early 1930s, Vigeland completed a small children's circle which is placed at one end of the bridge next to the small lake. In 1934, he completed the large bronze "Wheel of Life," which is composed of figures swirling in an eternal circle.
Wrought iron gates surround the Monolith Plateau and Vigeland park.
Those who visit the park may see the original full-size
plaster casts to the sculptures in bronze and granite in the Vigeland
Museum, which is situated five minutes south of the park. In
the museum you will also find Vigeland's early works, those which are mostly
influenced by August Rodin, and his woodcuts.
See also "The Little Hot-Head", from the earliest sketch (1901) to the finished work (1928-1930).
Mail to: Thanks
for coming. Number of visitors since January 29, 2000: Please visit the official Vigeland Museum site in Oslo by clicking on the icon below.
Thanks go to Anne Høegh Brand of the Vigeland Museum for providing additional information on Gustav Vigeland.
Books, Catalogues, Posters, Videos, Woodcut Reproductions, Slides and Postcards can be purchased directly from the Vigeland Museum Store (FAX +47 22 54 25 40). This site has no affiliation with the Vigeland Museum.
REFERENCES:
1. "Embrace of Life: The Sculpture of Gustav Vigeland." Text by Nathan Cabot Hale. Photos by David Finn. H.N. Abrams, New York, 1969.
2. "Gustav Vigeland Sculpture Park and Museum in Oslo." Normanns Kunstforlag A/S, Oslo, Norway. 1993
OTHER VIGELAND-RELATED SITES ON THE WEB:
Eros in the art of Gustav Vigeland: Gustav Vigeland's erotic visions |
Vigelands Skulpturepark - Oslo: A nice Vigeland site |
The Sculpture of Gustav Vigeland: Wonderful photos by Jeffrey Howe |
The Album: Vigeland Park - A nice site |
Gustav Vigeland- Recent photos of the sculpture park |
Vigeland Park Sculpture: Nice photo of Vigeland Park sculpture |
Shin's Photo Gallery: Norway - Photos of Vigeland Park and Norway |
Vigeland Gardens: A snapshot of the central fountain |
Verkommen til Vigelandsparken: Historical information - in Norwegian |
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Vigeland Park, Oslo: Also contains nice photos of the Monolith |
Survival in Norway: Hiking tour of Norway |
Virtual Sightseeing: A Walking Tour of Oslo |
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