We drove two and a half hours northeast to Sassnitz, where we caught the ferry to Trellborg, Sweden, and then on to Malmo, where we had a hotel room in a brand-new area.  The Art is already in place.

 Ekvilibrist by Joep van Lieshout, 2011, in front of shopping mall.
Mother by Charlotte Gyllenhammar, 2014.
Malmo bridge to Copenhagen.

We began by driving east to Skane to see the Ale's Stones of Kåseberga.  Estimates put the site, which is in the elliptical shape of a boat, at 1,400 years ago.  The end of the Nordic Iron Age.

Stones are in center.
Guarded by Sheep.

On the way back to Malmo, we spotted a sign for a Skulpturparken on the grounds of Marsvinsholms Castle.  An annual show, it turned out to be rather nice.  Here are a few pieces:

Dansande flickor by Joze Strazar Kiuohara
 Galatea by Peter Mandl
Sektorns mekanik by Bertil Herlow Svensson
Philosopher surfing on a wave of future by Richard Brixel
Guardians by Klas Sundkvist


Back in Malmo, we took the train over the bridge to Copenhagen. Just because we could.


We began the next day at the shore, where just behind the beach we found the FEI European Championships for Ponies.  We watched what looked like full-sized horses doing the usual routine of gaits, steps, and patterns.


There would be jumping later in the day, so we walked up the beach into town for a look around:

Kanotisten by Carl-Bertil Widell
The Wave of the Baltic Sea by Gunnel Frieberg, 1983
Till Erinran by Axel Wallenberg, 1951
Pulserande koordinatsystem by Leif Bolter, 1967-70

The Konsthalle was free, but offered nothing of interest to us, so we continued on to the Modern Museet, which offered a very interesting exhibition of Art by Swedish artist Nils Dardel.  Influenced primarily by the Fauves, Dardel developed a vivid palette and dramatic composition.  He thought of himself as the Dandy.  In 1912 he met art dealer Wilhelm Uhde who introduced him to Henri Rousseau.  A meeting that would have a lasting impact.

Self-portrait with hat by Nils Dardel, 1911
 Exotic Landscape by Nils Dardel, 1918
The Shepherd and the Rats by Nils Dardel, 1922
The Dying Dandy by Nils Dardel, 1918

He didn't die until 1943, in NYC.


Then more Malmo.

Fiskegumma by Clarence Blum, 1949
 Rubato by Eva Hild, 2015
Odd Fellow Palatset, 1904

Back at the horse show:

Driving up the Swedish coast, our next stop was Gothenborg.


The main attraction here was the Konst Musee.

Poseidon by Cark Milles, 1931
 Tommy by Tony Cragg, 2015

Before we went into the museum, we spotted a statue over to one side:

Victor Hasselblad by Ulf Celen, 2006, based on a prototype by Eino Hanski

Apparently camera pioneer Victor Hasselblad was a native son.  With a variety of offerings, we had a great time here.  Of note was the Fürstenberg Gallery with its murals by Carl Larsson and sculptures by Per Hasselberg.

Nackrosen (water lily) by Per Hasselberg, 1892, walls by Carl Larsson
The Child by Fredrik Raddum, 2005.
Seconds in Ectasy by Cajsa von Zeipel, 2010

There were young Swedes taught by Matisse:

Jules Pacsin by Isaac Grunewald, 1921
Figures on Beach by Sigrid Hjerten, 1917 (wife of Isaac Grunewald)

A large French collection:

Landscape by Raoul Dufy, 1935
 Portrait of a Woman by Marie Laurencin



And out in the city...

Karin Bove by Peter Linde 1900-1941
Non Violence by Carl Fredrik Reutersward, 1997

Then on to Oslo.  Let's start with some random shots.

 Fru Fortuna by Per Ung, 2005
 Tigeren by Elena Engelsen, 2000
Osvald monument by Bjorn Gulliiksen
Oscar Mathisen by Arne Durban, 1958
Respite designed & constructed by the students at Norwegian schools of architecture, 2015
1903 vintage
Fellowship by Nico Widerberg, 2015
The Traveler by Kurt Laurenz Metzler, 2001
Liten Selma by Oddmund Raudberget
Gunnar Sonsteby - Freedom Fighter by Per Ung, 2013

 Vigeland, the product of the sculptor Gustav Vigeland, is the big draw in Oslo, and rightfully so.  But it turns out he has a brother who was also an artist.  Emanuel Vigeland was a multi-talented man who had a successful career producing decorative paintings, frescoes, and stained glass for many of Oslo's churches.  He built his own mausoleum at Slemdal shaped like a windowless church.  Inside the walls and ceiling are covered in a massive fresco entitled Vita.  Difficult to see as it is virtually black inside, but the eye manages to see after a while.  Ten years after he died in 1948, the mausoleum was opened to the public.

Pictures were naturally prohibited, but here are a couple I found.


Vigeland, in Frogland Park, was not far away.  Starting in 1924, Gustav Vigeland began a twenty-year journey of making sculptures for his great fountain.  212 bronze and granite statues.  The monolith is comprised of 121 figures.  Here are just a few.


Ekebergparken Sculpture Park, on the opposite side of town, is on a hill overlooking Oslo.


I couldn't find out much about the park, but there was lots of sculpture, including some name artists.

by Dyre Vaa 1930s
Levitating Woman by Matt Johnson, 2012
Venus Victrix by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1914-16
 Venus de milo aux tiroirs by Salvadore Dali

Back in town, we went to the National Gallery, which was free on Sundays, so there was a bit of a line.  But lots of nice Art inside.

 After the Bath by Auguste Renoir
 Mrs. Manet in the Conservatory by Edouard Manet, 1879
 La Coiffure by Edgar Degas, c 1893
In the Skerries by Anders Zorn, 1894
Breakfast in Sora by Peder Severin Krøyer, 1880

There was one room in which I could not take pictures - the Munch Room.  Seventeen paintings including a version of The Scream.


Once again, skipped the contemporary art museum.  Stopped at the Central Cafe to take pics of the murals there done by Per Krohg, who did the mural overlooking the UN Security Council.


The National Museum for Contemporary Art was also free, so we stopped in.  Not a ton to like, but they did have a couple of names to offer.

Quarantania by Louise Bourgeois, 1847-53
 Half-Off B by Sol LeWitt, 1980

The Munch Museum was having a special exhibition pairing Munch with Van Gogh.  The quality of those Van Goghs was remarkably high, featuring a Potato Eaters, Starry Night, Boats at Saintes Maries, and more.  Of course, no photos.  These are their self-portraits, for example:


Back in the center we walked all the way around the magnificent city hall.  Begun in 1931 and interrupted by the war, it was not inaugurated until 1950.  There are many lovely architectural details on the outside:

Per Palle Storm


The Nobel Peace Prize banquet takes place here each year.

Radhushallen (grand function room)
 by Henrik Sorensen
by Alf Rolfsen
Much of the interior was closed due to a special event, but Marie was able to get a glimpse of the Munch mural, entitled Life, inside.  One of the towers has a 49-bell carillon which chimes every 15 minutes as well as playing weekly concerts (apparently annoying some of the neighbors).  Outside was a series of wooden artworks depicting Norwegian folklore adorning both sides of the courtyard/entrance by Dagfin Werenskjold.

Embla (Elm) by Dagfin Werenskjold
Swan Maidens by Dagfin Werenskjold
Tor is Driven by his Goats by Dagfin Werenskjold


Finally, a few more shots from around Oslo.


Leif Juster by Nina Sundbye
Memorial to Johan Svendsen by Stinius Fredriksen, 1940
Jordmusikk by Harald Oredam, 1985
Heptakord by Turid Eng, 1984
She Lies by Monica Bonvicini, 2007
Ansikt by Kjersti Wexelsen Goksoyr, 1999
by Skule Waksvik, 1989

There was one final sculpture park for us to find at the end of the boardwalk in Oslo Harbor.  The Selvaag Collection at Tjuvholmen consists of seven sculptures by international artists.  We skipped the Astrup Fearnly Museum, which was right there, as it was contemporary art that did not look appealing.

 Untitled (Totem) by Ellsworth Kelly, 1998
Eyes by Louise Bourgeois, 1997
 Edge II by Antony Gormley, 2000
Just a few more shots.

Dykkar by Ola Enstad (1943-2013), 2013






Appropriately, we took the Oslofjordtunnel to get out of town.  At 7239 meters long (4.554 miles) it is only the third longest subsea tunnel in Norway.  Our trip north to Flam was filled with all sorts of tunnels.  Most were long, narrow, raw, unlined stone, with little-to-no light.  Fortunately, the traffic was very light.  Often a tunnel would lead right out to a bridge and then back into another tunnel on the other side. There were tunnels with hairpin turns inside and some with hairpin turns right outside the tunnel entrance.  There could be a rotary right there when you come back to sunlight or rotaries inside the tunnels.  Some tunnels spiraled upward or downward, often they just went straight up or down. It was fairly mind-boggling. There are over 900 tunnels in Norway.


But between the tunnels, the scenery was spectacular.

Flam

At Flam we wanted to continue on to Bergen but learned that the tunnel was closed due to a fire.  We had to retrace part of our route before finding the road to Bergen.



And as far as Art was concerned.  The pickings were slim.


Bergen is Norway's Second City and a popular stop for cruise ships.  Fun to walk around.

Royal Norwegian Naval Forces Band
 
We took the Fløibanen Funicular up to Mt. Fløyen for the views.

 
 Propellen by Eva Karin Fremstad,2002
Fish carrier known as Ascension, 1870 mosaic
Rod Vind by Arnold Haukeland, 1978
Dansk Pige by Gerhard Henning, 1955










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