Petra Pettersen

PETRA PETTERSEN
FOLLOWING THE SUN PIONEERING ART IN THE DECORATION OF PUBLIC SPACES

Special issue. NORWAY–RUSSIA: ON THE CROSSROADS OF CULTURES

As part of Kristiania’s Royal Frederik University’s centenary celebrations in 1911, a new festival hall – the Aula – was planned as the artistic and symbolic highlight of the jubilee. Separated from its union with Sweden in 1905, Norway had become a sovereign state, and the young country had a desire to proclaim its national status. The decoration of the Aula’s eleven wall panels was included in the plan for the university’s centennial celebration in September 1911. Edvard Munch entered the competition to decorate the Aula in spring 1909 and his draft was accepted for further development in March 1910, along with proposals made by the artist Emanuel Vigeland.