Birth, childhood, romance, struggle, growing old, and death...

Gustav Viegland made a deal with the city of Oslo in 1921... In return for state support and a great studio, he would beautify Oslo...and boy did he!  Frogner Park is a 75 acre park that contains a lifetime of his work.  For 20 years he worked on site, designing 192 bronze and granite statue groupings - 

600 figures all together...each nude and each unique.  This sculpture garden blew us away!

As you walk into the park, it is almost set up into 3 parts.  First you come to the 300 foot long bridge with bronze cast statues lining the sides...58 all together.  These studies of the human body deal with relationships between people.

Lenore and I both were drawn to this mother embracing her baby!

And here is Ron (aka Vanna White!) and the circular statue of a man and woman going round and round...the eternal attraction and love between the sexes.  

Directly opposite man against the world:

We also liked the protective father...

And who could resist the mad little boy (not that any of OUR boys ever looked this mad!!!)

Walk a little farther and you see this huge fountain with figures surrounding it...you HAVE to explore deeper...

And then you have to bust out the dreaded selfie stick and totally embarrass yourself until you finally get one great photo of 4 people who love each other, having the time of their lives...

(Be sure to ask us for the dozens of bad out-takes that preceded this photo...taking selfies - with or without a stick - does not come naturally to any of us!)

This huge fountain is surrounded by 20 statues showing the seasons of life...childhood, young love, adulthood and old age.  

Here you see Ron and Lenore reinacting one of the statues of a couple in love (despite Ron's pleading, Lenore would just NOT get on her knees for this re-inactment!)

One of MY favorites was the mother and father holding their baby...

Ok...I don't want to just single R&L out...here is Gary and my reenactment of one of the statues

Please remember that the camera adds 10lbs! And excuse Gary and me for dressing alike AGAIN!!  This has got to stop!  Stripes yesterday, plaid today...what's left for tomorrow - polka dots?!?

The sculptures of the elderly people were very moving..

 Well... We kept on going deeper and higher into the park and finally came upon this amazing obelisk/monolith of 121 figures carved out of a single piece of granite. It took 3 stone cutters 14 years to complete this piece...can you imagine?

Walk a little farther and you get to the last section... The Wheel of Life where 4 adults and 3 children are intertwined.  

The park is gorgeous, and the sculpture was all amazing...we each had our favorites. And isn't that what art is all about...touching each person deeply and differently?