The National Museum of Norway

Norway's new art center

The National Museum of Norway got its name after being merged in 2003 by the former institutions The National Gallery, Museum of Art and Design, Museum of Architecture, Museum of contemporary art and Museum of National Exhibitions. The moving process, where over 400,000 objects had to be moved, took over one year to complete.

Over 6,500 art works from the collection will be exhibited at the same time in the huge exhibition halls, that contains of over 90 rooms. Starting at the first floor with art from the antiquity, then moving forward in time to the modern era in the second floor. Last but not least, the 2,400 m2 large light hall in the third floor makes completely unique surroundings for the newest of contemporary art, that will be shown in shifting exhibitions through the year.

If you plan to see it all, make sure you have enough time! 

Works from the biggest Norwegian and international artists

The collection contains work from some of the biggest names in art history, both in Norway and international. Among the most known Norwegian painters from the Modern period is Edward Munch, who has even been given a separate room for his art.

Here you can find famous paintings like "The Scream" ("Skrik" in Norwegian) and "Madonna". Other famous painters from Norway, from the classic age, are Adolph Tidemand, Hans Gude, Christian Krogh, Theodor Kittelsen, Harald Sohlberg, Thomas Fearnley and many more.

The museum also got international stars on the list of exhibititors, like the classic icons Pablo Picasso, Vincent Van Gogh, Paul Gauguin and Henri Matisse, and more.

In the contemporary art field, work by artists like Ingerid Kuiters, Daisuke Kosugi, Ilavenil Vasuky Jayapalan and many more will be shown.

But not only paintings are worth a visit. Among the museum's absolute highlights is the "Baldishol carpet", made around year 1040-1190 and the 600 years old "Dragon Vase" from the Ming Dynasti in China.

Preserving the art

Many museum objects are fragile, and can be easily damaged, even by factors such as light. Therefore, the museum has made special lights in the different rooms.

– The technology in artificial light allows us to set the light correctly, so that is doesn’t damage the art. Sometimes, some objects and paintings even needs total rest and has to be taken down for a while, says Communication Advisor, Hanne Marie Willoch.

She also tells that during the moving of the art, the art works in the collection went through an extensive conservation process.

– All the paintings, for example, have been through A "health check" before getting put up on the walls in the new museum. For some paintings, the conservators have rinsed every square centimeter with a small swab, that turned totally black of all the dirt! Earlier it was allowed to smoke inside the old National Gallery, so over time many paintings has been covered in tobacco, perfume and other waste, she says.

240 million year old fossils

When the architect chose the building materials, he wanted to use clean and robust materials that will age with dignity, like oak, bronze, marble and slate. Parts of the floor are even made of the very rare white stone, "mussel lime", from France. But the most impressing with this are the many small fossils that are hidden in the stone material, dated to be around 230 to 240 million years old!

One of the largest of these was found when the floor was laid, and is a so-called "Spiky Skin" ("Pigghud" in Norwegian). You can find it if you look at the floor right in front of the stairs up to the "Light Hall" – good luck on the treasure hunting!

Environmental friendly building

The new National Museum is a model project in the FutureBuilt program, which entails strict environmental obligations. The building must, among other things, satisfy an energy level corresponding to a passive house.