Scan Magazine | Museum Feature | Vigeland-museet
From the exhibition Parallels. Gustav Vigeland and his Contemporaries at the Vigeland Museum 2019. Photo: Ivar Kvaal, Vigeland-museet
The visionary legacy of Gustav Vigeland — 150 years after his birth A century and a half after his birth, Norwegian sculptor Gustav Vigeland is still one of the country’s most noted artists, with an eponymous museum and monumental sculpture park to his name. To mark this year’s anniversary, the Vigeland Museum and its partners are shedding light on this remarkable visionary’s life and legacy, revealing a man of a somewhat reticent nature, who left artistic footprints far beyond his nation’s borders. By Julie Linden
“He was an artist who rarely exhibited his work abroad, despite being asked to do so quite often,” says Jarle Strømodden, museum director at the Vigeland Museum, about the lesserknown aspects of Vigeland’s exceptional career. “He was an avid commentator of contemporary issues, he really saw his surroundings and created art out of those moments. For this, he holds an impressive place among the artists of the late 1800s – across nationalities.” 42 | Issue 123 | April 2019
A jubilee graced by the contemporaries Inaugurating a jubilee exhibition on the day of Vigeland’s birth, 11 April, the museum is approaching the anniversary with a dynamic touch and desire to both educate and inspire. The core jubilee exhibition will consist of works by Vigeland’s French and Belgian contemporary colleagues, including Rodin, Maillol, Meunier, Bourdelle and Barye. “These are artists Vigeland learnt from and was inspired by, so there is an
interesting creative arc that seems to bind their careers together,” comments Strømodden, adding that works for the exhibition have been borrowed from museums in Paris and Copenhagen. “We aim to show the early period of his artistic life, convened with the works of distinctive sculptors in the rest of Europe at the time, with emphasis on form, expression and style. Vigeland’s works were most certain-
Art historian Jarle Strømodden, museum director and exhibition curator of the Vigeland Anniversary Exhibition: Parallels. Gustav Vigeland and his Contemporaries. Photo: Unni Irmelin Kvam, Vigeland-museet