Travel: Oslo 1

After about a 1 mile walk, I arrived at the Nasjonalmuseet, The National Museum.  It is a collection of over 400,000 pieces and holds many of the national treasures of Norway.  I was drawn to the religious art (big surprise there), but there were many other pieces that I enjoyed.

My feet were tired at this point, so I sat down in front of the painting below and just enjoyed it. After a few minutes, I noticed the seagull down in the bottom right corner. There were actually two of them. The painting is Fresh Breeze on the Norwegian Coast by Hans Gude.

And then we came across this fella. This is a self portrait of Vincent van Gogh that was painted in 1889 and purchased by the museum in 1910. In 1970 it was questioned as to whether or not it was actually a van Gogh. It was confirmed in 2020. Van Gogh was in a deep state of psychosis at the time of the painting.

From an article in The Guardian:

In the portrait, dated August 1889, the artist’s expression is lifeless and the image is dominated by a dreary and downbeat greenish-brown tone.

“The Oslo self-portrait depicts someone who is mentally ill,” the museum said. “His timid, sideways glance is easily recognisable and is often found in patients suffering from depression and psychosis.”

Van Gogh admitted himself to a small asylum in Saint-Rémy, France, in May 1889 andii was struck down by a severe psychotic episode in July that lasted for a month and a half.

The painting can be linked to a letter that the artist wrote to his brother Theo in September, about a self-portrait “attempt from when I was ill”.

Try not to be too scared by what you see next. There are many amazing pieces of art in the museum, but this is perhaps the most famous. The Scream by Edvard Munch (yes, he is a Norwegian.) It was the only painting that I saw where a security guard was posted beside it. My guess is that the recent acts of vandalism against famous pieces of art has brought this on.

And yes, I am a dork.

After coming out of the museum and allowing my eyes a few minutes to adjust, I discovered that I was right next to the Nobel Peace Prize Center. I enjoyed my walk-through. There were many that I knew, but I sought out my two favorites.

Narges Mohammadi from Iran was the 2023 recipient of the award. Her story is quite fascinating.

Just a few photos from my walking about.

One more from the museum. It seems fitting that it should be at the bottom of this post. The title is Hell by Gustav Vigeland. The central figure is modeled after Rodin’s Gates of Hell. Old Scratch is seen here as a thinker.