Among those who have lived at home there is Anders Svor,
who has followed his art honestly and seriously under difficult
conditions and who, particularly in the statue of a nude young
girl, has produced a piece of work deserving of mention for
its sincerity; and finally, there is Jo Visdal, who perhaps more
than any of the others has made himself representative of this
generation of naturalists through his portrait busts. A nota-
ble example is his thoughtfully studied and characteristic bust
of old Head Master Knudsen, by which Visdal gained
deserved recognition.

Between the art of Gustav Vigeland and contemporary
sculpture in Norway there is a great gulf. More than that,
the entire production of Norwegian sculpture, viewed in per-
spective, has subordinate value as compared with his genius.
Gustav Vigeland was born near Mandal in 1869. Never in
Norwegian art have imagination and a sense of form been
united to such a degree as in his work. Yet that which more
than all else gives to his artistic achievements their imperisha-
ble quality is the strong individuality and the wealth of ideas
expressed in them. Very seldom have art and life been more
intimately joined. As confessions of the joy and the anguish
of living his sculpture has overflowed all the bounds of artistic
objectivity.

In reality Vigeland cannot be said to be the disciple of any
particular master. He has had no regular and systematic
artistic schooling. He has made brief visits to Bergslien's
and Skeibrok's ateliers and spent a year in Bissen's workshop
in Copenhagen, yet not in the capacity of an actual pupil. On
the whole, Middelthun alone among Northern sculptors
appears to have had a positive influence upon his develop-
ment. The distance betwen the two, however, and their dis-
similarities as to temperament and talent are sufficiently
obvious. Vigeland has learned more through travel than by
any other means. He has traveled much, seen much, and
ruminated more than most artists. Vigeland came to
maturity during the naturalistic and impressionistic periods in
Norwegian painting. Nevertheless he undoubtedly feels
himself to be in opposition to the older generation. Only

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