Modern art turns gothic at Norway's National Museum

“Gothic Modern. From Darkness to Light” at the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design in Oslo examines how artists around the turn of the centuries 1800/1900 looked to European late medieval and Northern European renaissance art from the 14th to 16th centuries for inspiration. 

In a time of rapid social changes and eroding traditional values, leading modern artists looked to the past for new ways to express emotions and existential states. The power of the Gothic aesthetic to arouse deep emotions was highly inspiring. For many artists, the medieval worldview was a mirror they could use to reflect their own era. The term “Gothic” no longer referred only to a historical era or a specific style, but stood rather for subjectivity, norm-breaking and a radically new aesthetic ideal.

Modern art presented alongside artworks from the 14th to 16th centuries
At the heart of the exhibition are artists such as Käthe Kollwitz, Edvard Munch, George Minne, Akseli Gallen-Kallela, Max Beckmann, and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. Their work is presented in dialogue with notable forerunners, including Hans Holbein the Younger, Albrecht Dürer, and Lucas Cranach the Elder. “Gothic Modern” is the first international exhibition to explore this juxtaposition.

The more than 200 works by around 60 artists range from prints and paintings to drawings and sculpture. The exhibition is divided into seven chapters: Journeys to the Gothic, Pilgrims of art, Encounters with death, Community and traditions, Gothic variations, Love and attraction, From darkness to light. Themes such as faith and doubt, death and grief, love and sexuality, identity and social roles are all explored in the exhibition. 

See more at nasjonalmuseet.no

About "Gothic Modern. From Darkness to Light":

• On view at the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design from 28 February–15 June 2025.
• The project was initiated by the National Gallery of Finland / Ateneum Art Museum, Helsinki and is created in collaboration with them and Albertina, Vienna.
• "Gothic Modern" opened at the Ateneum in October 2024 and will also be shown at the Albertina from 19 September 2025 to 11 January 2026.
• Vibeke Waallann Hansen and Cynthia Osiecki are the curators of the National Museum's exhibition. The exhibition is also curated by Anna-Maria von Bonsdorff, Director of the Ateneum, and Ralph Gleis, Director of Albertina.
• The exhibition is based on an international research project led by Professor Juliet Simpson (Coventry University), launched with Ateneum Art Museum in 2018. Professor Juliet Simpson, as the Guest Curator, has led the research and exhibition concept, in collaboration with Ateneum, the National Museum of Norway, and the Albertina in Vienna.