OSLO (AFP) — Norway gave the go-ahead on Wednesday for the demolition of a bomb-damaged building adorned with drawings by Spanish master painter Pablo Picasso.

The government, which ruled out a further postponement to the 2014 decision to demolish the building, has said it would relocate the two Picasso murals.

Completed in 1969 in the center of Oslo, the “Y block,”1 named for its shape, bears drawings by Picasso sandblasted on its walls — the work of Norwegian artist Carl Nesjar, who collaborated with the Spanish master painter.

Previously the home of a government ministry, the building was damaged in the deadly bomb attack carried out by right-wing extremist Anders Behring Breivik on July 22, 2011, before he went on to carry out a mass shooting on the island of Utoya, killing a combined 77 people.

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  • 1. The 2014 decision to knock down “Y block” provoked a backlash among champions of architectural heritage and the ensuing public outcry saw a delay to the demolition.
Architect Erling Viksjø had this Pablo Picasso relief sandblasted in the stairway of an Oslo highrise known as H-Block in 1959
Architect Erling Viksjø had this Pablo Picasso relief sandblasted in the stairway of an Oslo highrise known as H-Block in 1959 © Leif Ørnelund/Oslo Museum via CNS