Frescoes by Picasso in Norway under threat of destruction

The Norwegian Directorate of Cultural Heritage fears that the first monumental murals on concrete, made by Pablo Picasso from the late 1950s to the early 1970s on the walls of two government buildings in Oslo, may be destroyed. These buildings were seriously damaged during the terrorist attack in the capital of Norway in July 2011.

The government is currently considering demolishing the buildings that make up the so-called government quarter.

“If we demolish the buildings and transfer the frescoes to another place, they will no longer belong to Picasso,” says Jorn Holm, head of the Office of Cultural Heritage.

Following the July 22 terrorist attack, Rigmor Aasrud, Minister of Government, Reform, and Church Affairs, brought demolition of buildings for public comment. At the same time, Kholm and many other building defenders are sure that Asrud wants to destroy the buildings, although the ministry spokesman declined to comment.

A few months before the terrorist attack on Oslo, the city authorities decided that the buildings (known as Y and H-blocks) should be liquidated, but the public opposed. The ministry asked several architects to prepare several options for both the demolition and restoration of buildings. Projects should be ready by the summer of 2013.

A report from the Office of Cultural Heritage states that, despite serious damage, the buildings can still be used. “We continue to believe that maintaining buildings is appropriate. Not only because of the frescoes of Picasso, but also because these buildings are the cornerstone in the Norwegian history of architecture and the formation of the state as a whole after the Second World War, ”says Holm.

The buildings were erected in the 1950s and 1960s, using natural concrete, which was popular in Norway after the war. Picasso made sketches of five paintings, which were to decorate the interior and exterior of buildings. The largest fresco called Fisherman (1970) is on the facade of the Y-block. For Picasso himself, this was the first experience of such work. Later, the artist performed similar orders for Stockholm and Barcelona. Experts consider the entire complex of buildings to be a unique and original work of art, which should be preserved in its original form. What will actually be the fate of the frescoes of Picasso in Oslo will become known in the summer.

Anna Sidorova