Emanuel Vigeland Museum

Emanuel August Vigeland born at Halse near Mandal 2 December 1875, by parents cabinet-maker Elesæus Thorsen (1835-86) and Anna Aanensdatter (1835-1907). Younger brother of Gustav Vigeland (1869-1943).
1875

Debut at the Autumn Exhibition, Adam and Eve. Finne's scholarship (1897-98).
1897

Houen's scholarship (1899-1901). Student of Fernand Cormon in Paris (1899-1900).
1899

Solo exhibition in Kristiania and Copenhagen. Marries painter Valborg Kristine Madsen (1879-1951).
1902

Participates in the fresco decoration of the main staircase in the Copenhagen Town Hall (1904-05). His son Per is born.
1904

Fresco paintings, chandelier and stained glass in Vålerengen Church, Oslo (1906-09, 1915).
1906

Designs and supervises the construction of his own house with studio in Grimelundsveien at Slemdal, west of Oslo. He is rejected in the competition for stained glass in Trondheim Cathedral.
1908

Stained glass, Kråkerøy Church near Fredrikstad. Stained glass, pulpit, altar, altarpiece, lighting items etc., Bryn Church, Bærum (1911-14).
1911

Stained glass and altarpiece, Uranienborg Church, Oslo (1915-46).
1915

Glass paintings, Olberg Church, Krødsherad. Glass paintings, Borgestad Church, Porsgrunn (1917-19). His son Imm is born.
1917

Fresco paintings and stained glass, The Church of Nordlandet, Kristiansund. Mosaics, stained glass etc., Gjerpen Church, Skien (1919-21). Exhibits stained glass in Stockholm and Copenhagen. Stained glass, King Oscar's Church, Stockholm (1919-22, 1927-29). Establishes a school for stained glass in his studio at Slemdal, Oslo (1919-22).
1919

Chandeliers etc., Immanuel Church, Halden (1921-22).
1921

Chandelier, Trinity Church, Oslo. Stained glass in staircase, Arts & Crafts Museum in Oslo.
1923

Stained glass, Church of Our Lady, Kalundborg (1926-28). Stained glass, Bishop's Chapel, Stavanger Cathedral (1926-27). Initiates building of his third studio at Slemdal, Oslo, which he named Tomba Emmanuelle (1926-27). This studio is today the mausoleum.
1926

Stained glass, Aurland Church
(1940-47).
1940

1894
Attends The Royal Drawing School in Kristiania (Oslo) (1894-97).

1898
Three works at the Autumn Exhibition, Fight over Woman, A Couple and a sketch for a wall decoration. Student at P.S. Krøyer's painting school, Copenhagen (1898-99).

1900
Study trips to Italy, Spain and England (1900-02).

1903
His daughter Maria is born.

1905
Benneche's scholarship. Study trips to Egypt, Jerusalem, Italy (1905-06).

1907
Begins to work with stained glass. Fresco altarpiece, Vaterland Parish Church, Oslo. Paintings for altarpieces in Holm church and Rødven Church, Møre og Romsdal. Study trip to the cathedrals of northern France, Le Mans, Chartres, Tours (1907-10). Fresco paintings, chandelier and stained glass in Oslo Cathedral (1907-11, 1916).

1910
Invited to participate in the competition for the decoration of the assembly hall, University of Oslo (1910-11). Fresco paintings, stained glass and lighting items for the newly built crematorium (later renamed The Old Chapel), Western Cemetery, Oslo (1910-24).

1913
Fresco paintings in vestibule and lobby, University Library, Oslo. Sketches for decoration of Oslo Guildhall. Builds his second studio in his garden at Slemdal.

Fresco (detail), University Library, Oslo

1916
Stained glass, Grefsenåsen Chapel, Oslo. Fresco painting, Paulus Congregation House, Oslo. Stained glass, Fredrikstad Cathedral (1916-17). Meets Sweden's Archbishop Nathan Söderblom who introduces him to the People's Church Movement in Sweden.

1918
Fountain group The Virgin and the Unicorn, commissioned by merchant Albert Martens, donated to Bergen city council and installed in Nygårdsparken in Bergen (1918-20).

1920 ca.
Stained glass for the rose window, Olav's Hall, Akershus Castle, Oslo.

1922
Chandelier and wall lights, Stavanger Cathedral (1922-24).

1925
Stained glass, Århus Cathedral (1925-26).

1930
Stained glass, Lund Cathedral, (1930, 1935-36).

1948
Dies in Oslo 22 December.