Wergeland was born in Oslo, Norway. Several of his siblings died early, and his father went to America around 1860. He was a student of
David Arnesen (1818–1895) during 1859 and of the
Norwegian National Academy of Craft and Art Industry from 1865 to 1867. He also attended the art school operated by
Johan Fredrik Eckersberg (1822–1870) from 1865 to 1869. He was a student at the Copenhagen
Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in 1869. He studied
history painting in
Munich 1874 – 1876, and lived in Munich until 1889. From 1889 he was teaching at the
Norwegian National Academy of Craft and Art Industry in
Kristiania. The painting
Riksforsamlingen på Eidsvoll 1814 was probably begun in 1882. Wergeland copied well over 60 portrait to get the result as credible as possible. The picture includes 55 portraits of the constitutional fathers. (Not all of the 112 persons are viewable.) Today it is located in the
Norwegian Parliament, behind the speaker's platform and the presidential podium. The painting was used as the main reverse motif of
Norwegian 100 kroner notes from 1962 to 1977. Additionally the painting appeared on several Norwegian postage stamps issued during 1918 for the 100th anniversary of the Constituent Assembly at Eidsvoll. ==Notable works==