The carved granite monolith is the spectacular centerpiece of Vigeland Park in Oslo, Norway.
Of all the 212 bronze, iron and granite sculptures in Oslo’s Vigeland Sculpture Park, one stands tallest. Carved out of a single block of granite, the 46-feet-tall monolith is a stunning centerpiece helping cement the park’s status as a must-see place in Norway.
The architect? Gustav Vigeland, who dedicated his life to producing artwork for the city of Oslo, much of which is now on display at the installation within Frogner Park in Oslo’s leafy westside.
A spectacular centerpiece
The monolith is an impressive sight from a distance, but even more so up close. It depicts 121 intertwined human figures, seemingly clinging on and climbing over one another. Women and men of different ages feature, while younger children clamber at the very top.
121 human figures are carved into the granite.
According to Vigeland Museum, the sculpture has been interpreted as “a kind of vision of resurrection, and our longing and striving for spirituality.”
The story of the monolith
It took a team of three masons 14 years to complete the carving from the single piece of Iddefjord granite delivered in the late 1920s. Having been protected by a wooden shed during construction, the finished monolith was first revealed to the public at Christmas in 1944.
The initial clay design took Vigeland ten months, before several plaster models were cast as reference models for the masons. Some of those models are on display today in the Vigeland Museum.
The surrounding sculptures
The monolith sits atop a plinth and a circular set of steps, serving to increase the impact of the already tall sculpture.
Further granite sculptures surround the monolith at Vigeland Park in Oslo, Norway.
Set around the steps are a series of granite sculptures, once again depicting men, women and children in a variety of pensive, angry, agitated and touching poses. Access to the monolith and steps is through one of eight wrought iron gates that feature human figures in their design.
Vigeland and Oslo
Vigeland was supported by the city for much of his life, with the agreement that the city would inherit his work upon his death. Commissioned by the city, the impressive monolith was originally intended to tower above Oslo Central Station.
But because Vigeland was so prolific, the city chose to place the monolith and other prominent sculptures in parkland outside Vigeland’s studio. That parkland is now visited by more than one million people in a typical year and has become the most popular free attraction in Oslo.
