University art collection: Sculptures in the city centre

On UiO's campus in the centre of Oslo, you will find bronze statues and reliefs tailored to the buildings' neoclassical architecture. In the garden area behind Domus Media, several modern monuments are hidden, while world-famous sculpture Gustav Vigeland's symbolic portrait of Nils Henrik Abel stands in the Palace Park across the street. 

Map overview

Sculpture List

Julius Middelthun ¨C Anton Martin Schweigaard

Anton Martin Schweigaard, one of Norway's most important statesmen and authors at the end of the 19th century, was a professor at UiO.

Julius Middelthun was assigned the task of creating a sculpture of Schweigaard after his death. After several years of work, due to both accidents and self-criticism, Middelthun unveiled what many consider his masterpiece in 1883. 

Stinius Fredriksen ¨C Monument for Peter Andreas Munch

Professor Peter Andreas Munch was among the founders of the history discipline in Norway and an important nation-builder.

Munch's statue naturally belonged centrally at Universitetsplassen, and is executed in a clear classicism by sculptor Stinius Fredriksen. 

Knut Steen ¨C Memorial for Fredrik Paasche

Fredrik Paasche was a literature professor highly valued for his research, but also for his humanitarian work for political refugees in the 1930s.

The memorial for Paasche illustrates both research and resistance. Multi-artist Knut Steen created the sculpture early in his career, and has since become one of Norway's foremost sculptors in modern times.

Sigrid Fridman ¨C Monument for Torgny Segerstedt

Torgny Segerstedt was known for being a strong critic of Nazism. He expressed support for Norway's resistance fighters, much to the dissatisfaction of his neutral home country Sweden.

Sigrid Fridman's sculpture is stylized and modernist in its design. Sharp lines, along with the use of dark granite which is a hard and strong material, creates a powerful expression.

Gustav Vigeland ¨C Monument for Nils Henrik Abel

This sculpture group was actually the runner-up in a competition to create a monument of Niels Henrik Abel. After much discussion, the committee nevertheless decided to purchase Vigeland's sculpture in 1905.

Due to its size, it was placed at the southeastern corner of Slottsparken. This is a symbolic representation of the young genius Abel, who was called "the mathematical superman" of his time. 

Mathias Skeibrok ¨C Athene animates the man created by Prometheus

Mathias Skeibrok was tasked with decorating the top part of Domus Media with a sculpture group that matched the neoclassical building.

It was Norway's first art historian, Lorentz Dietrichson, who suggested the theme of Athene animating the man created by Prometheus: A symbol of the universal and scientific ideals that the university stood for.

14 bronze sculptures fill the gable, each with different symbolism and historical references attached.

Photos: Thomas Tveter/UiO art collection

Explore UiO's sculptures at the Blindern main campus