Gustav Vigeland spent his childhood surrounded by carved wood figures made by his father, and in dreams of becoming a wood Carver himself. Who knows at what point, whether in children's first experiments with tools, in the Parisian Studio, in vigils with friends-artists (among whom Edward Munch was the first for a long time) or during a lonely desperate work, Vigeland Matures the idea of unprecedented scope: to create a sculpture Park of stone and bronze and embody in it all human life — all feelings, relationships, ages... Forty years of work and proper payments of taxpayers (the Norwegian authorities cleverly solved the problem of the budget for the creation of a young talent) to bring a good result.

Weighty, roughly, visibly. "Of stone to make pairs" is not about him. Vigeland cut in stone or bronze and creates from them the human body and the human body in his statues keep the hardness of the stone and the fortress of bronze. However, for Norway and Norwegian art it is characteristic: the nature itself here requires strength and courage from anyone, whether visiting a guest or even a local native. It has become a tradition since the days of the Vikings, which vigelands characters look great.

Naked truth

Frogner Park is impressive from the first minute. There are several reasons for the fact that all the figures here are naked. This is a reference to the beautiful Antiquity, where the naked body symbolized beauty and perfection: however, from the ancient "in a healthy body — healthy spirit" sculptures by Gustav Vigeland has one significant difference: among his works not only depict the young body in his Prime and charms, but also sculptures of people disfigured by old age, illness or death. And it makes a very strong impression.

The second reason is equally important — the Norwegian mentality, and Vigeland when creating the Park showed himself a true son of his land.

And third, importantly. Clothing and hairstyle — this the age of. Fashion. Position in society. Naked same person is the same at all times — as well as his passions, dreams, aspirations, "meanness and petty villainy.".. Vigeland understood that. And absolutely didn't want the Park over time turned into a visual aid on how dressed people two or three hundred years ago. And he wanted to create, on a truly biblical scale, a work that would reflect all human life from the womb to death.

This work was devoted to the whole life. And the result remained in centuries.

In the Park leads the bridge, thrown across a tiny river, like a road from the world of everyday life in the world of fantasy Vigeland. On the four sides of the bridge is decorated with columns, on which allegorical figures in the chitons are struggling with outlandish lizards — and invariably lose, as a person loses the battle with his passions. The sculptor knew and did not idealize human nature. It's interesting to see his work — they know themselves. More than six hundred figures, static or dynamic. Mothers and children, grandfathers and grandchildren, lovers and friends. Pregnant women and dying old men. Indeed, all human life is here.

In the center of the bridge, leading to the Park, there are children's figures depicting four temperaments — phlegmatic, sanguine, choleric and melancholic. The choleric explosive pups with the compressed Cam rubbed to a Shine, officially called "Capricious kid" or "Angry boy", is an object of invariable delights of all visitors of the Park and an unofficial symbol of Oslo, and according to the sculptor who created the Park during the years of fascist occupation — the image of the country itself: Norway is small and can do nothing when it is offended, but is angry

Life goes on

It is amazing that even dark and heavy scenes do not scare away visitors. Vigeland sculpture Park has become a true soul of the city, its most visited place. From early morning to late at night here you can see parents with babies, athletes on bicycles and running, cheerful Scandinavian pensioners, dog walkers with Pets, tourists from all over the world... But in the non-touristic season the Park does not sleep. Even in the terrible days after the attacks of Breivik here continued life. Vigeland was a great optimist, and it seems that a sense of faith in the person transferred to each visitor of his Park. It's everything. ...That Park need to go through the rosary. The symbolism of thorns and roses, a combination of rough stone and delicate blossoms are too explicit and intelligible, understood anyone coming, and there is no need to speak them aloud. As well as the symbolism of the ascent-the Park aims up, you need to overcome more than a dozen steps to get to the Monolith, his heart, which will be described below…

If you look under your feet on one of the grounds of the Park, you can see that the ornament decorating it — a maze. Its length is more than three kilometers, and it is necessary to pass at least part to see that there is a way out of any impasse, and if you are in the wrong place, you can always go back and start all over again. ...If you look closely at the fountain "the Cup of life", where six giants carry a huge bowl and the water gushes out of it, without decreasing, — you can see that around the" grow " four bronze groves, embodying human ages: childhood, youth, maturity and old age. They are closed in a ring, and next to the figures embodying the sad and terrible life finals — for example, with a skeleton clinging to a tree as a life, of the last forces — you can see old age wise and happy: the old man holds his grandson by the hand, you continue in your descendants, life is eternal...

Arms crossed, legs crossed...

And most importantly, what is here to reach, and when you come, to stand in respectful meditation. The center and the heart of the Park is the Monolith. A huge granite column of woven human bodies. Where the hem of the body crushed or dying, which are above desperately striving for life and light, creeping up and at the top, at a height of sixteen meters, closest to the sky, is a newborn baby.

"Monolith is my religion," said the sculptor. No long words and not leaving any Holy book. Vigeland really created their tablets in the stone figures, surprisingly alive. In this tangle of bodies, everyone finds his from the Freudians, who could not miss a huge column of naked bodies, to the critics who claim that all the pieces of the Monolith are drawn to God and closest to him — clean, not had time to sin the soul of a newborn. It is worth to stop and think. Stone people talk to the living about the living.