Gesamtkunstwerk

Villa Stenersen
Photo: Nasjonalmuseet

Transcription

Narrator:
Most visitors let out a little "ohh!" in surprise at seeing the modern house in Tuengen Allé 10 c.

Villa Stenersen was completed in 1939 and is considered one of architect Arne Korsmo's main works.
The house attracted attention in its day and was originally the home of Rolf and Annie Stenersen, who lived here with their two children and enormous art collection.

Korsmo was commissioned to design a family house, which would also house be home to a large art collection that Stenersen had amassed since he was a teenager.

You can see some of this collection in the garden. The two sculptures by the Swedish-Danish artist Gerhard Henning have stood outside since the house was new. "Torso", originally stood in the corner furthest towards the centre, the other, "Sitting girl", stands is still in its original place.
These sculptures, together with the rest of the garden and the large oak tree to the east, show the way in, and give an overall experience of the house.

More than being a practical large house, Villa Stenersen links the art outside, the garden, the building and the interior into a separate unit, a so-called gesamtkunstwerk.

In 1942, the Nazis occupied Villa Stenersen.
None of the German officers wanted to live in the villa, so it was used as an orphanage for children with Norwegian mothers and German fathers.

After the Second World War, Stenersen returned to the house and when he moved out in 1974, he donated the villa to the state.
For a short period after this, the residence was home to some state ministers. For example, in the 90s, the foreign minister Thorvald Stoltenberg lived here and would hold talks with key people over breakfast.

Nelson Mandela is one of those who was served tea in the kitchen.