Winter is coming
Quote of the week
Next time you see an ant, remember: winter is coming! The best time to prepare for tomorrow is today.
Haddon W. Robinson
Hello,
No, I am not going to talk about Game of Thrones, but this is the feeling I had during my days in Oslo. It was cold, between -4 and -8 C/24.8-17.6F. I was happy with my new winter jacket. I had a great time; seeing an old school friend I have not seen for 37 years, although we have been in contact from time to time. We had lots to talk about, and she took me for a guided walk down town. Through the famous street Karl Johan, down to the water front with the new library which is fantastic. It overlooks the new Opera house which is another fascinating building, built like a ski slope. Always full of people walking up and down. From there you have an excellent view of the new Munch museum.
The National museum
I went to the National museum and had a look at the permanent Collection exhibition. The first painting I saw was the Mona Lisa. Turns out to be a copy from around 1600. It was once attributed to Bernardino Luini, but is now considered to be by an anonymous painter.
The museum Collection is very interesting. I only saw the painting section, and left the rest of it for next time. I don’t know very much about Norwegian painters, except Munch, but here I got familiar with one of the most famous ones, Christian Krogh. The museum introduction:
“Christian Krohg, one of the great Norwegian painters of the Realist movement, was a champion of justice and freedom of expression. Krohg painted members of the working class in the Kristiania of the 1800s with empathy and a desire for change.”
Although there is a separate Munch museum, you find some of his paintings here as well. Two rooms were dedicated to him. Two of his most famous paintings (which he did several copies of) are displayed here; The Scream and Madonna. The last one is one of my favourite of his paintings. More about them later.
The collection also has paintings by international painters. The display was very well done. Divided into centuries, with information on the type of paintings popular at the time.
The Munch Museum
The new museum was opened in October 2021. As always with new, modern buildings one sometimes wonder about the design. It looks rather gruesome from the outside, but the inside is very well done. Light and airy, except in the exhibition halls, which tend to keep a darker tone of light to spare the paintings. From the top floors you have a magnificent view over the harbour of Oslo.
The Munch exhibitions cover several floors, and there are also exhibitions from other artists. The collection as such consists of almost 28 000 artworks. “Edvard Munch’s bequest comprises one of the world’s largest collections of works by a single artist.”
I started at the top with memorablia from Munch and his house Ekely, as well as a history of his life. It was very nicely done. Then a hall with his etchings and drawings. Going down one floor we enter a hall with a very high ceiling, hosting his monumental paintings. The biggest one is 50m2 (about 540 square foot). Most of them destined for official places and the university.
On the third floor was the big exhibition of his paintings, covering several rooms. They are divided into themes, and can be viewed in the order you like. I am only familiar with the two famous paintings, but the exhibition gives you a good view of his very productive collection. I cannot say I liked all of his paintings, but going around I found many that I can add to my favourites.
The two last paintings cover sickness and death. In the old days people died at home, and family and friends came to pay their respect. What I noticed in the painting of the mourners, is that everyone is looking in a different direction. No one is looking at any one else, or talking to each other.
The painting above, Sick child, was very controversial when it was displayed at the time. Like van Gogh, Munch wanted to be realistic and paint what he saw, and what was part of people’s lives.
If you are visiting the Munch museum, please be aware that the famous The Scream is displayed only short times. There are three paintings of it here; a drawing, a print and an oil painting. The drawing and the oil painting are very fragile, due to the fact that they have been stolen twice, and damaged. They have been restored, but are still sensitive to light. Therefore the print is displayed for half an hour, every hour, but the other two alternate their display. Print - drawing, print - oil etc. It means if you want to see them all it takes you two hours. I left it all until the end, and saw only the print and the drawing. On the other hand I did see the oil painting in the National Museum.
There was also a temporary exhibition on Munch and Goya. My feet were aching at this time, so I walked through it rather quickly.
The stay in Oslo was very pleasant, meeting Hannes again. Two evenings were spent in the Padel hall in Drammen for a competition, but otherwise we walked around the city, and had wonderful meals with a lot of talking.
On my blog this week
I did not have much time to either read or write. I managed two posts though upon returning home.
Nonfiction November - theme this week: Week 4 (11/20-11/24) Worldview Shapers: One of the greatest things about reading nonfiction is learning all kinds of things about our world which you never would have known without it. There’s the intriguing, the beautiful, the appalling, and the profound. What nonfiction book or books have impacted the way you see the world in a powerful way? Is there one book that made you rethink everything? Do you think there is a book that should be required reading for everyone?
Novellas in November - theme this week: The Short and the Long of It. Pair a novella with a nonfiction book or novel that deals with similar themes or topics. Maybe inspired by Munch, I choose the Vampire theme. The novella Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu and Dracula by Bram Stoker.
You make me want to go to Oslo soon. As children, we considered Oslo our capital, because it was so close to Karlstad.
The vampire by munch really got me. There are so many hidden messages in that painting.
I love art and Munch is very interesting, though I don't know much about him as an individual. The paintings you showed were new to me as well and I especially liked the sunrise (?) one. In some ways I might have liked this Mona Lisa better than Leonardo's in that it felt fresher and more clear. But they both have their charms. It certainly looked cold there. Hope you were bundled up!