Gustav Vigeland

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Gustav Vigeland, 1929

Gustav Vigeland (born April 11, 1869 in Mandal , Vest-Agder province , † March 12, 1943 in Oslo ) was probably Norway's most important sculptor .

life and work

Vigeland's naturalistic works were influenced by Auguste Rodin . As a teenager he trained as a wood carver. He received further training from the sculptor Brynjulf ​​Bergslien .

The Oslo City Council received the rights to the artist's sculptures and paid for the artist's livelihood in return. In Frogner Park in Oslo , the Vigeland Sculpture Park is a monumental group of figures. The main theme of the park is the human life cycle. The complex was built between 1924 and 1943. It comprises 212 figures, including 58 bronze figures on a bridge, including the famous Sinnataggen (“The Little Defiant Head”), a small child stomping angrily with its foot and one of 121 stone figures 17 m high column made of granite , the so-called monoliths .

Vigeland also designed the Nobel Peace Prize medal in 1902 .

To the south of Frogner Park at Nobelsgate 32 is the sculptor's former studio, which is now the Vigeland Museum showing sketches and sculptures.

Gustav Vigeland in Berlin

Gustav Vigeland went on a study trip to Berlin in 1895. During his almost four-month stay in the Zum Schwarzen Ferkel wine tavern, he met a number of German, Polish and Scandinavian artists, among them Stanislaw Przybyszewski and Edvard Munch , with whom he was friends. He made portrait busts of both of them, which have not survived. The only surviving work from his time in Berlin is the group of figures "De nedbøyde".

From Berlin Vigeland traveled on to Florence .

selection

Web links

Commons : Gustav Vigeland  - album with pictures

Individual evidence

  1. Tone Wikborg: Gustav Viegeland. En biografi. Gyldendal Norsk Forlag AS, Oslo 2001, ISBN 82-05-27590-4