The Magnificent Bergen Art Museum In Norway Is Toured By Our Editor

Written by Caroline Barsallo Tuesday, 01 November 2011 22:39

Bergen Art Museum (Bergen Kunstmuseum) was founded in 1825 by Wilhelm Frimann Koren Christie. In its early years, the museum contained numerous art collections, including several works by the painter Johan Christian Dahl, cultural artifacts, and craftwork items. In 1931, the museum moved from its location in the Seminarium Fredericianum building near Bergen katedralskole, to a new building south-west of Lille Lungegårdsvann. This was the first dedicated museum building in Norway. The current natural history building was finished in 1865, and Bergen Museum moved in during 1866. The botanical garden was laid out between 1897 and 1899, and the cultural history department got its own building in 1927. The increasing research activity at the museum from the late 19th century and onwards led directly to the founding of the University of Bergen in 1948. Bergen Art Museum's permanent exhibitions are in Lysverket and Rasmus Meyer collection. These exhibits show art from the museum's own collections and are on view long periods of time. Basic exhibitions in Lysverket is a traditional historical-chronological review of the art history of early Renaissance to the present day. The presentation is supported by important works in the museum's collections, and thus focus on Norwegian art history. Works from the Stenersen collection are included in exhibitions in Lysverket. The Rasmus Meyer Collection is a special collection of the Bergen Art Museum, shown in a building constructed for this purpose in 1924. A visitor can experience the historic original interiors, and the golden age of Norwegian painting, with works by Edvard Munch, Christian Krogh and Harriet Backer among the highlights.

In particular, the Bergen Art Museum is also home to an exceptional collection of international contemporary works, where the most prominent artists include Joan Miró, Johan Christian Dahl, Pablo Picasso, Paul Klee and Wassily Kandinsky. The Bergen Art Museum offers a broad range of educational programs and gives presentations of both permanent and temporary exhibitions to pre-school, elementary school and secondary school classes. Through The Cultural Rucksack program (a national scheme for professional art and culture in schools in Norway), the museum offers guided tours and art workshops by art historians and artists, which are adapted to the curriculum of the Norwegian school system. In recent years the museum has made a considerable investment in digital workshops with advanced computer programs. The aim of temporary exhibitions is to highlight the city's artistic diversity, and how a new generation of artists are present. The exhibition also makes the occasional swoop through the last forty years in the Bergen art. The participating artists are not necessarily from the area, expiations are open to a large variation in background and nationalities. Many of the works can be seen in the museum's permanent exhibitions where they are part of an art historical presentation. Also, the museum's temporary exhibitions regularly collect works from the collections, and other museums, and some works can be seen in the museum's interactive Internet service. The Bergen Art Museum has well crafted exhibit and educational facilities and programs designed to provide visitors of all ages with stimulating and inspiring art experiences. From 2007, the management of the collections is delegated to a new foundation - the consolidated large museum Art Museums in Bergen, Bergen Art Museum is now aligned with five museums.