One surprising thing we’ve learned recently is that Oslo has an inferiority complex, compared with other Scandinavian capitals like Copenhagen and Stockholm. This is not something we would have guessed on our own, since we think it’s an amazing place. In a recent (paywalled) article in the New York Times, we learned that the redevelopment of the harbour front (which we’ve written about, in parts 1 and 2) has happened because Oslo is trying to make itself more of a cultural destination.
Which brings us to the two new museums at the waterfront. And by new we mean new: the Munch Museum opened last year, and the National Museum opened in June. So, really new. We’ll cover the National Museum in a later post and look first here at the ‘older’ museum. (There are limited pictures in this post because photography is forbidden in a number of the galleries.)
We visited the Munch Museum (or just ‘Munch’) a couple of weeks ago. It’s free on Thursday evenings, so that’s when we went (remember, we are minimalists!). You may recall us mentioning controversy about the exterior; we’d be surprised if people didn’t like the interior spaces. We sure did! The work of Munch himself occupies floors 4 to 6, with the other floors given over to installations, performances, and special exhibitions. Right now, for example, there is an exhibit showing some of the works from the collection of Rolf Stenersen. Stenersen, a financier who collected modern art, left two collections to the Norwegian state, one to Oslo and one to Bergen; this exhibit unites many of his purchases.
And we were very excited to see floor 10’s current exhibit, entitled, ‘Satyricon and Munch’. As classicists we thought that perhaps Munch had done drawings for Petronius’ famous novel, the Satyricon. Alas for us, Satyricon is a (famous!) Norwegian ‘black metal band’. (More on the Norwegian metal scene soon.)
We especially liked the display of Munch’s prints, which also shows the equipment he used, including a number of plates. There is also a table where kids (and adults!) can make their own prints by rubbing paper over small copies of the Munch plates affixed to the table. One full floor contains ‘Munch Monumental’, his enormous and impressive canvases in a great setting. Munch also did four monumental paintings that hang in the University. We hope to be able to see them later this month.
At the top of the Museum are two floors for eating and drinking. Floor 12 has a restaurant and sky room, with fantastic views out over the harbour, and the Sky Bar takes up Floor 13 (clearly the builders weren’t superstitious). We haven’t tried either one yet, but chances are very good that we’ll get to the Sky Bar, probably at night, since the views will be spectacular. Stay tuned for pictures!
