Gustav Vigeland statue

The man you see on the pedestal is none other than Gustav Vigeland himself, gazing upon his life's work, Vigeland Park. The entire area, with its over 200 sculptures, was designed and formed by the artist himself. He was born in Mandal in 1869, where his father was a master carpenter. Even as a boy, Gustav Vigeland demonstrated special skills in wood carving, and when he was just 15 years old his father took him to Kristiania (now Oslo) where he was apprenticed. However, he didn't want to become a wood carver, but a sculptor. After many lean years as a budding artist, he finally held his first solo exhibition in 1894, which resulted in several scholarships and made it possible for him to study in Europe. Upon his return to Norway, he worked as a sculptor for a few years at Nidaros Cathedral before he began to create several of what have become Norway's most famous busts and sculptures, including those of Camilla Collet and Henrik Wergeland that you can see in downtown Oslo. In 1921, the municipality of Oslo and Gustav Vigeland reached an agreement on Vigeland Park. In return for the municipality financing his work, studio, and living space, Vigeland agreed to donate all his works to the municipality without further compensation. Vigeland's home and studio have today been turned into a museum, and are also his final resting place. After his death in 1943, the urn containing his ashes was placed in the loft above his former dwelling in the museum, where it still resides.