FOUR SEASONS ON A RAINY DAY

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I love to live in Scandinavia where we have the variation of seasons. However this winter we have had mainly rain, so the other day I was comforting myself by making this collage that I named “Four seasons”. These pictures are made by the Norwegian painter Edvard Munch and they are all hanging in The Munch Museum in Oslo. By the way you will soon discover that I am a huge fan of his art.

Upper left:   Spring landscape at the red house, 1935
Upper right: High Summer II, 1915
Lower left:   Forest, 1903
Lower right: Winter in Kragerø, 1912

His most famous work is of course “The Scream” which is described “an icon of modern art”,  and you may learn more about the artist and this painting by watching the fabulous BBC Documentary  Munch – Private Life of a Masterpiece

LAMBDA – THE NEW MUNCH MUSEUM BY THE OSLO FJORD – OPENS THE 22ND OF OCTOBER 2021

 

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λ Lambda is the 11th letter of the Greek alphabet. (Alpha is the first letter and Omega is the last one).

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Edvard Munch is Norway’s most important contribution to the history of art and his masterpiece “The Scream” one the world’s most famous paintings.

The present Munch Museum on the outskirts of central Oslo will be replaced by a new ultra-modern museum designed by Spanish architect Juan Herreros. His design has caused some controversy in Oslo. Juan Herreros himself called the building “strange but logical” when he was interviewed by the Norwegian daily Aftenposten on a visit to Oslo some time ago where he faced some of his critics.

“This is a place where all of Oslo will go when they have their birthday or visitors from other places. We are also considering a viewing platform on the roof of the building. There you can go out from the exhibition and feel the light, the wind and the cool air, and then go inside the warm building again. If we make the building lower, it will diminish the view and the quality of the experience,” says Herreros in the Aftenposten interview.

This is an extract from a text written by the Swedish journalist and blogger Anders Steinvall.

Wow! Watch this film and look inside the building!

The Spanish architect Juan Herreros talks about his vision behind the new museum here.

VIKINGS – WOMEN OF REAL INFLUENCE

ingeborg-vvPainter: Peter Nicolai Arbo  – Title: Ingeborg

At the moment it seems like everything that has to do with the Vikings is very popular, probably thanks to several new television series such as the Irish-Canadian television series “Vikings” where the second season recently was launched.

Like many Norwegians I do have an ambivalent relationship to my violent ancestors and great ship builders the Vikings (793 – 1066 AD). However I do find their wives, the powerful and independent Viking women really fascinating both the way they lived and how they ran their homes.  We are speaking of year 800-1000 after Christ and about women of real influence. When their husbands went viking, trading or hunting, they were in charge of supervising the big household with parents, grandparents, children, servants, slaves, crops and properties. They made cheese and butter, provided for dried and smoked meat and fish for storage, and they were responsible for the food to last during the long, dark winter. In addition they were expected to know about herbs for making medicine and care for the sick and wounded. A visible sign of a woman’s authority were her keys that she wore prominently displayed at her waist showing her status as head of the household. The men valued their wives and often let them make the decisions on behalf of the family. There was a high degree of gender equality.

Although the Viking women probably were loaded with work, it seems to me that they were ahead of their time when it came to independence. Could it be because they believed in and were influenced by the powerful goddesses like Freya and Frigg from the Norse mythology? Freya was the goddess of beauty, fertility, love and magic and Frigg was the goddess of wisdom, sky and fertility.

According to the Norwegian archaeologist Ellen Marie Næss, these women also dearly loved their jewelry and were very well dressed in colorful tailor-made design. Looking at this picture I do believe her. However  if you want to read more about the viking women, read this article !

If you live in Oslo, Norway or are planning a trip there,  pay a visit The Viking Ship Museum and watch real Viking ships.

By the way the series Vikings is shown at History Channel in USA.

NOW I FEEL ROOTED

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Photo: Ada Nilsen

I love my new bracelet with ornamentation inspired from the Viking age. Actually from the wagon inside the Viking ship of Oseberg which dates back to 800 AD.

This is Snorre silver and it is made in Norway by the Norwegian goldsmith and designer Truls Grønvold. This series of jewelry is named after the Icelandic poet, historian and politician Snorri Sturluson who wrote down a narrative of Norse mythology and the history of the Norwegian kings around 1200 AD.

You can order from TG Design here