Emanuel Vigeland Museum

The Emanuel Vigeland Museum, located in the Slemdal district in the northwest of the city, occupies a bizarrely shaped workshop-chapel, built according to the drawings of the artist himself in 1926.

If Gustav Vigelanna was glorified by granite sculptures all over the world, then his brother Emanuel - church stained glass windows: it was he who managed to revive the medieval glass mosaic technique. The works of Vigeland Jr. adorn the Oslo Cathedral and the Uranienborg Church. For many years, Emmanuel Vigeland was in the shadow of his famous older brother Gustav, but recently interest in the work of this original artist began to revive.

In 1926, Emmanuel Vigeland built a building that was to become a museum for his paintings and sculptures, but then decided that the building would also become his mausoleum. All the windows were walled up, and the urn with the artist’s ashes is stored above the front door.

The main attraction of the museum is a dark vaulted room, completely covered with frescoes, the creation of which the artist spent almost 20 years of his life. The frescoes and the painting “Life” with an area of 800 square meters display dramatic, and in places – clearly erotic scenes from human life from conception to death. The impression of the dimly lit fresco with many nude figures is enhanced by the unusual acoustics of the room. The museum also exhibits drawings, paintings and sculptures by Emanuel Vigeland.

The museum, opened to the public in 1959, is open on Sundays.