Up until the end of the 19th century, public monuments were mainly reserved for idealised representations of historic heroes. Vigeland broke with this tradition. He sought to capture something more than portrait likeness and superficial grandeur. He created monuments that symbolised something greater than the person he celebrated, without employing the usual attributes.

The monument in honour of the Norwegian mathematician Niels Henrik Abel (1802–1829) is a monument to the power of the mind – conveyed via movement and energy. It was unveiled in the Palace Park in Oslo in 1908, and is considered Vigeland’s ultimate breakthrough as a sculptor.

In his portraits as well, Vigeland sought to avoid idealisation. He depicted his models with their flaws and imperfections – at the same time that he had a special talent for capturing the unique characteristics of each and every one of them. Vigeland made portraits throughout his entire career, more than a hundred busts in all.

Gustav Vigeland, Tordenskiold, 1915. Plaster.

Peter Wessel Tordenskiold (1690–1720) was a Danish-Norwegian naval hero. Here, Vigeland has portrayed him standing, dressed in a knee-length cape, high boots, a neckerchief, and a tricorn hat. The statue was erected in Stavern on 14 July 1935.

Gustav Vigeland, Camilla Collett, 1909. Plaster.

In 1902, the Norwegian Association for Women’s Rights announced a competition for a monument to the writer and women’s rights advocate Camilla Collett (1813–1895). Vigeland wished to create the monument but refused to take part in an open competition. His proposal was therefore not among the twelve submissions. None of the submitted designs were recommended for execution, and Vigeland was subsequently invited to a closed competition, for which he submitted two proposals: one depicting a young Collett wearing a bonnet with her head slightly tilted, and another showing an elderly Collett standing in the wind, titled In the Storm. It was not until 1908 that the jury agreed to award the commission to Vigeland, and perhaps surprisingly, they chose In the Storm.

This was an unconventional monument—indeed, one might say a groundbreaking one. Until the late nineteenth century, public monuments were largely reserved for idealized depictions of historical heroes. Vigeland, however, chose to portray Collett as an old woman, standing in the wind with her head bowed. By depicting her as weary from a lifetime of struggle, he managed to convey something greater than the individual herself. The sculpture came to stand as a symbol of the women’s struggle.

The monument was cast in bronze and unveiled in the Palace Park in 1911. It was Norway’s first statue of a woman on a pedestal.

Gustav Vigeland, Henrik Wergeland, 1907. Plaster.

Henrik Wergeland (1808–1845) was the Norwegian poet Vigeland held in the highest regard. With great enthusiasm, he once wrote: “If one can speak of a nation’s heart, then surely Wergeland is its incarnation; but to me he is something even greater. He encompasses not only a country—though I believe he is scarcely known outside Norway. His most brilliant images are universal, even if they cannot be translated. In power and sincerity, they stand second to none—that is my belief.”

When Kristiansand, Wergeland’s birthplace, planned a monument to mark the poet’s centenary in 1908, Vigeland was awarded the commission. He produced a number of sketches with symbolic representations before deciding on a more traditional portrait statue. Wergeland is depicted with his head raised, as if pausing in his walk to look toward the sky.

To achieve a lifelike portrayal, Vigeland relied on several contemporary portraits of the poet. He also borrowed Wergeland’s death mask from the Norwegian Museum of Cultural History; a few beard hairs remained on the mask, and Vigeland secretly kept one as a personal memento. For accuracy, he borrowed period-appropriate clothing from the National Theatre.

On 17 June 1908, the bronze statue of Wergeland was unveiled in Kristiansand—and on the very same day, an identical cast was unveiled in Fargo, North Dakota, USA.

Gustav Vigeland, Wergeland, 1905. Bronze.

This sculpture represents Vigeland’s second proposal for the Henrik Wergeland monument. Here, the poet is depicted standing, surrounded by a multitude of climbing, fantastical child figures symbolizing inspiration—a paraphrase of the ancient Nile god. Vigeland produced nearly 300 drawings and sculptural sketches for a symbolic Wergeland monument. Many of these studies share a similar composition to the Abel Monument, but in the end, Vigeland chose to portray Wergeland standing, dressed in the fashion of his own time.

Gustav Vigeland, Niels Henrik Abel, 1902. Plaster.

In 1902, a competition was announced for a portrait monument to the mathematician Niels Henrik Abel (1802–1829). Following the competition guidelines, Vigeland produced several drawings and sculptural sketches, but ultimately arrived at this symbolic group depicting the nude hero carried forward by two genii. On the shelf to the right are four of Vigeland’s sketches for the Abel Monument. The three smallest were made in 1902, while Abel on a High Pedestal (in the originally intended proportions) dates from 1907.

The sculptor Ingebrigt Vik won the competition with a classicist seated figure, but the committee eventually preferred Vigeland’s proposal. His interpretation is a dramatic vision of genius in flight through time and space, borne aloft by the spirits of thought and intellect embodied in two floating figures. The monument was modelled at a height of four metres (see the plaster original’s head to the left). The group, cast in bronze, was placed on an eight-metre-high granite pedestal in the Palace Park in 1908.

Gustav Vigeland, Henrik Ibsen, 1903. Bronze.
Bust of the poet and playwright Henrik Ibsen (1828–1906).

Vigeland modelled more than one hundred portrait busts, mostly on his own initiative, depicting prominent Norwegian men and women of his time and recent past. Striking physical likeness was not always his primary concern; rather, he sought a momentary expressiveness and a sense of character, with a sharp eye for the psychological qualities of his sitters. Vigeland’s bust of Ibsen portrays the fiery, indignant writer—the moral critic of society’s and humanity’s frailties. Despite his advanced age, the poet-hero radiates an inner strength and untapped energy. Marble versions of this bust can be found in the National Gallery and the National Theatre in Oslo.