Norway’s second city has first class art
Visitors entering Bergen by road pass through one of the long tunnels bored through the surrounding mountains, of which there are the magic number of seven, if you ignore a few adjoining hills. (Can’t let Rome have all the fame.)
Bergen old town is nestled around its port, which in medieval times was one of the most important trading centres in northern Europe, with half of its 1,000-year history dominated by merchants of the Hanseatic League. Seven of the world’s ten biggest shipping companies originated there.
The main attraction by the port is Bryggen, a warren of wooden buildings, most of them rebuilt after a large fire in 1702, although some burned down and were rebuilt as recently as 1955. Stuffed with shops selling local crafts, Bryggen is popular with souvenir-hunters. Behind Bryggen, a cluster of wood-fronted houses covers the hillside, run through by a network of charming, cobbled streets, while down by the quayside the Mathallen (Food Hall) is a modern emporium of stalls selling all manner of seafood, award-winning cheeses and other delicacies.
For a great overview of late 19th and early 20th century Norwegian art, head for the Kodeberg Art Museum, where the Rasmus Meyer Collection, named after the industrialist who donated his collection to the city of Bergen in 1916, has two main highlights: the largest collection of work by Bergen native Johan Christian Dahl, considered the father of Norwegian painting, and one of the world’s most important collections of works by Norway’s most famous artist, Edvard Munch. These are shown alongside works by lesser known names internationally such as Thomas Fearnley, Christian Krohg, Henrik Sørensen, Anders Svanstad, Hans Heyerdahl and Nikolai Astrup.
The Blumenthal Room in the Rasmus Meyer Collection
Visitors enter through the Blumenthal Room, where Rococo-style murals and ceiling paintings by the 18th century artist Mathias Bumenthal, originally installed in the banquet hall of businessman Henrik Jansen Fasmer, depict historical, moral and Greco-Roman mythological allegories. Other figures represent virtues such as faith, hope, love, obedience, temperance and patience. There are also references to navigation, astronomy, land surveying and trade between Norway and the Netherlands (Fasmer was also Dutch Consul General), while scenes of leisure and pleasure allude to his famously lavish parties. From there, a series of adjoining galleries takes visitors on a crash course of 19th and early 20th century Norwegian painting.
Johan Christian Dahl (1788-1857) was responsible for elevating the status of landscape painting from its low status compared to historical scenes and portraiture. In the early 1800s, the growth of Romanticism meant that nature became viewed not as something to be tamed, but as a symbol for creation in itself.
Johan Christian Dahl, ‘View of the Nigard Glacier in Jostedalen’, 1844, oil on canvas (Rasmus Meyer Collection)
Dahl’s rugged landscapes were seen as representing the Norwegian national character and were important in building the country’s cultural identity. He taught a whole generation of Norwegian painters and was influential in shaping the country’s art scene by founding societies and the first public art collection in Bergen
The exhibition dedicated to Edvard Munch (1863-1944) traces his progress from the naturalistic paintings of his younger years to his defining project, the expressionist picture cycle The Frieze of Life. Driven by an interest in the phases of human life and the universal rhythm of nature, he turned from painting external reality to depicting moods and psychological depth. Comprising over 40 paintings and 100 works on paper, the collection offers a unique insight into Munch’s artistic development.
Part of the Edvard Munch collection in the Rasmus Meyer Collection
Next door, also overlooking the city’s pretty central lake, Bergen Kunsthall is a contemporary art centre with rolling exhibitions and events by international artists. Established as early 1838, it is based in a 1930s functionalist building designed by the local architect Ole Landmark (1885-1970), who was also responsible for the Rasmus Meyer building.
From the exhibition It’s Breezing, Guatemalan artist Edgar Calel’s first solo show in Europe, at the Bergen Kunsthall
PLEASE NOTE: The Stenersen, the city’s museum for alternating exhibitions, is temporarily closed, while the Permanenten, the museum of craft and design, has limited displays while being renovated. For updates please visit www.kodebergen.no/en.
In the former Bank of Norway building from 1845, Kunsthall 3,14 has three gallery spaces exploring the relationship between contemporary art and current events through social and cultural questions such as migration, sustainability, freedom of expression, non-democratic movements and human rights violations. In the lobby, Parabol is the name given to a ‘sound shower’ where sonic works by early career artists reflect the themes presented in the galleries.
Kunsthall 3,14 in the former Bank of Norway building
On a broad city centre street down from the funicular entrance, Galleri Marianne Skjelbred is run by the artist/owner whose Nordic scenes are a play of light, colour and texture.
Marianne Skjelbred, ‘Lofoten’
Jump on a 67 or 600 bus to the Hop Sjølingen stop, then take a 15-minute walk to Troldhaugen, where the Edvard Grieg Museum is a place of pilgrimage for music-lovers from all over the world. Grieg (1843-1907) is the most famous and internationally acclaimed Norwegian classical composer, whose folk-infused music, often inspired by his country’s landscape, played an important role in defining Norway’s national identity.
Nina and Edvard Grieg’s villa is now a place of pilgrimage for music-lovers.
The composer’s story is told in a modern visitor centre a short walk from the pretty, petite villa he built for himself and wife Nina (he considered it his “best opus”), where they spent the summer months when Grieg was not on tour. On a promontory overlooking a bay, it was first opened to the public in 1928. Only the dining room, living room (which looks like the couple have just popped out for dinner) and former kitchen (now converted into a reception area) can be visited, Nina having considered the upstairs bedrooms to be too private. She survived her husband by almost 30 years.
The sitting room of Nina and Edvard Grieg’s villa
Visitors can also peek into Grieg’s composer’s hut on the water’s edge or walk by the couple’s burial site, a vault containing their ashes built high into a rockface. In the summer, there are daily concerts in the turf-roofed, custom-built Troldsalen Concert Hall with a large picture window beyond the stage overlooking the bay.
Edvard Grieg’s composer’s hut
One of Grieg’s most popular pieces, Wedding Day at Troldhaugen, was indeed written there – but not for a wedding. He originally submitted it under a different title to his publisher, who thought that sheet music of the piece would sell better under the new title. And so it did. You can hear Grieg himself play it here.
Also well worth visiting out of town are the Rasmussen Collections at Fjøsanger. (Take buses 14, 51, 67 or 600 to the Fjøsangerkrysset stop.) Originally assembled in the 1960s by a shipping magnate, the collection has been augmented by its current owner to include works by David Hockney (including from his Moving Focus series), Sir Peter Blake (a portrait of Queen Sonja) and Bob Dylan (a suite of his iconic Americana scenes), among others. These have joined works by artists such as Pablo Picasso, Jasper Johns and sculptor Per Ung. There is also a superb collection of Persian carpets.
Works by the Norwegian painter and graphic artist Frans Widerberg in the Rasmussen Collections
The permanent collection is accompanied by special annual exhibitions. These have included works by the Norwegian painter and graphic artist Frans Widerberg and selections from the collection of Her Majesty Queen Sonja. Herself an artist, her castle-like official residence in western Norway is clearly visible directly opposite the gallery.
Part of the superb collection of Persian carpets at the Rasmussen Collections
On the other side of the highway from the Rasmussen Collections, Galleri Langegården occupies an Empire-style manor house typical of the ‘pleasure farms’ built around Bergen at the end of the 18th century. The ground floor art gallery has changing exhibitions of contemporary art.
Galleri Langegården
Where to stay
In the former Bergen stock exchange building, the Frescohallen of the Hotel Bergen Børs is considered a Norwegian national treasure. Painted by Axel Revold, the walls and vaulted ceiling of what is now the hotel’s restaurant are covered with beautiful frescoes telling the story of Bergen’s fishing and export industries.
The frescoes in the Hotel Bergen Børs restaurant are considered a national treasure.
FURTHER INFO visitbergen.com