10 Highlights of the National Museum in Oslo, Norway
-
Loading... - Cheryl Williams
- 16 Aug 2022
- 71 Views
- 0 Like
- 0 Comment
After many years of development including several lengthy delays, the new National Museum of Norway is finally open to the public. The ‘big, grey box' as it has been dubbed by critics holds few clues as to the contents.
I recently took a trip to the capital and spent several hours wandering the vast new museum. Whatever you think of the exterior, you can't fail to be impressed by what's inside.
Introducing the new National Museum
The new museum replaces four previous buildings including the former National Gallery. It's home to more paintings, contemporary art, and design and crafts from the full collection than ever before.
“Norwegian politicians decided to bring these four collections into one to have an institution that was able to tell the whole story from antiquity up until today about visual arts and culture”, said museum director Karin Hindsbo.
As with the new Munch Museum, the building's exterior has caused some controversy. Some call it grey and soulless, but I quite like the final result. It stretches out behind the Nobel Peace Centre so you don't actually appreciate the building's full size from any one angle.
With 13,000 square metres of exhibition space, Norway’s National Museum is bigger than Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum and Bilbao’s Guggenheim. That presents a challenge for visitors in knowing what to see.
Having just visited for the first time, here are my top ten suggestions for must-sees when visiting the National Museum.
You won't find many paintings on this list, even though the collection is colossal. That's no reflection on the quality of artworks on display throughout the enormous second floor.
Bear in mind that even though the National Museum is vast, the full collection is far bigger than what's on display at any one time. This means that some exhibits could be removed at a later date. Some of the highlights I've picked out below are also temporary exhibitions. I've tried to make a note where this is the case.
Reindeer skull curtain
There is a large amount of artwork born out of protest on display in the museum. One of the most impressive, thought-provoking and controversial is actually on display in the foyer.
Guests are greeted by a tapestry made up of 400 polished reindeer skulls–pierced by bullet holes–by Sámi artist Máret Ánne Sara. It has been used as a Sámi protest symbol against policies of the Norwegian state for many years.
The fact it is on display in Oslo is the result of lengthy debate and negotiation. If the museum decides to remove the piece from the foyer, it must be returned to a museum in the Sámi area of Northern Norway. Read More…
