Picassoskulpturen in Kristinehamn's archipelago

Picassoskulpturen, towering at 15 metres tall, is the first large-scale concrete sculpture by Pablo Picasso and the largest in the world to date. It is situated in Kristinehamn’s archipelago, specifically at Vålösundet, about 7 kilometres from the city center. The sculpture was unveiled on Midsommarafton in 1965. The larger slab, which shows Jacqueline’s face in profile, is six metres high, four metres wide, and weighs four tons. The sculpture was made by the artist Carl Nesjar, who developed the betograv technique with engraving in natural concrete in a collaboration with the architect Erling Viksjø during the 1950s.

Discussions about sculpture projects in concrete with the upscaling of maquettes that Picasso had already made since the 1950s began around this time. Nesjar had inquired in his home community, but the municipality of Larvik was not interested. Bengt Olson and Carl Nesjar met by chance outside Paris in 1964, where both were living. Bengt Olson had previously seen a maquette of a Picasso sculpture in cardboard from the series Les dames de Mougins in a book with a photo reportage from Picasso’s studio in 1958.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons