van gogh+munch

Transcription

van gogh+munch

VAN GOGH+MUNCH
Melgaard+Munch
Vigeland+Munch
Guttorm Guttormsgaard
Jakob Weidemann
Bergesenstiftelsen
Proud
sponsoravofMunchmuseet
the Munch Museum
Stolt sponsor
Munch’s
approximately
8 000
arefærreste
a treasure
very few
are
aware of.
Munchs ca
8.000 tegninger
erdrawings
en skatt de
kjenner
til. En
nettbasert,
A
complete internet based catalogue raisonné and exclusive book containing
komplett verkskatalog og en praktbok med et bredt utvalg av tegninger vil
a broad selection of drawings will make this important part of Munch’s oeuvre
gjøre denne
viktige
delen
av become
Munchs an
kunstnerskap
kjentfor
forresearchers
et stort publikum,
known
to a large
public
and
invaluable tool
around
the
world.
og bli
et uvurderlig verktøy for forskere over hele verden. Bergesenstiftelsen
gjør realiseringen avhas
prosjektet
Bergesenstiftelsen
Bergesenstiftelsen
made it mulig.
possible to realize the project.
Edvard
watercolour,
1921
Edvard Munch:
Munch: Kneeling
KnelendeNude,
kvinne,
akvarell, 1921
THE MUN CH MUSEUM
Responsible Editor: Stein Olav Henrichsen
Editor: Janicke Iversen
© Munchmuseet 2014
Written contributions from the Munch Museum:
Hans Ludvig Arentz, Magne Bruteig, Lasse
Jacobsen, Trine Otte Bak Nielsen, Lill Heidi Opsahl,
Petra Pettersen, Jon-Ove Steihaug, Lars Toft-Eriksen,
Biljana Topalova-Casadiego and Eva Storevik Tveit
Text about Vågå, page 43: Unn Bostad
Thanks to: Elisabeth Blichfeldt, Arne Borgan, Hilde
Bøe, Inger Engan, Christine Anett Jarli, Tyann Karp,
Espen Kregnes, Trygve Lauritzen, Knut Listerud, Terje
Løvland, Gitte Skilbred, Julie Knoff Smith, Henrik
Svalheim, Terje Syversen, Sivert Thue, Hilde Annette
Ødegaard and the Munch Museum’s receptionists.
A special thanks to Karen E. Lerheim.
Translations into English: Francesca M. Nichols
Design: Melkeveien Designkontor as
Printed by: IT Grafisk
Paper: 300g and 120g Soporset
Print run: 2 500
The magazine is available in PDF and EPUB
versions on the Munch Museum’s website:
www.munchmuseet.no
All reproduced artworks by Edvard Munch are in
the collection of the Munch Museum unless
otherwise noted
Edvard Munch’s artworks: © Munch Museum/
Munch-Ellingsen Group/BONO 2014
Photographs of Edvard Munch’s artworks:
© Munch Museum (Svein Andersen, Halvor
Bjørngård, Jaro Hollan, Sidsel de Jong)
Photographs of works in the Stenersen Collection:
© Munch Museum (Richard Jeffries)
Vincent van Gogh’s artworks: All reproductions
courtesy of the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
(Vincent van Gogh Foundation)
Photographs of Vincent van Gogh’s artworks:
© Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van
Gogh Foundation)
DEAR FRIENDS
OF MUNCH
For me personally, the Munch Museum is a source of
enthusiasm and motivation in my work. The collection
is unsurpassed, and in the recent past major initiatives
such as The Modern Eye and the jubilee exhibition
Munch 150, curated in collaboration with the National
Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, has not only
inspired me, but also strengthened Oslo’s reputation
and attracted a lot of positive publicity for the city.
Exhibitions like these are built on years of advanced
planning, research and meticulous conservation of the
artworks. When the museum presents its annual programme, much of the work has already been completed,
and the museum’s experts are deep into planning next
year’s events. It is therefore a great pleasure to be able Photo: © Nyebilder.no
to confirm that the museum is a vital, future-oriented
institution, full of great ideas and exhibition plans also for 2015.
The privilege of managing a collection of the magnitude that the posthumous bequest left
by Edvard Munch represents is also a great responsibility. One must place the collection
in a context with the artist’s predecessors and contemporaries, and not least demonstrate
his continued relevance today. It is therefore wonderful news that this year’s programme
includes an exhibition with Munch’s contemporary and fellow expressionist Vincent van
Gogh, as well as an exhibition with an artist of our time, Bjarne Melgaard.
In order to promote increased interest in and knowledge about Edvard Munch and his
artistry locally, nationally and internationally, the City Council of Oslo has passed a resolution to build a fantastic new Munch Museum. The Stenersen Collection and the Munch
Collection belong inherently together, both because of Rolf E. Stenersen’s close personal
relationship to Edvard Munch and because of the Stenersen Collection’s emphasis on
Norwegian artists who were active at the same time as Munch, or in the period following
his death. We can hardly wait to relocate everything into the same building, to provide
pleasure and stimulation for the public.
I wish everyone a great Munch year.
Front page: Vincent van Gogh, Self-Portrait with
Grey Felt Hat, 1887 Paris
Page 7: Bjarne Melgaard: Sketch for Skater Rats,
2014 (detail). © Bjarne Melgaard/BONO 2014 |
Guttorm Guttormsgaard: Everything is far away,
isn’t it, 1974 (detail). © Guttorm Guttormsgaard/
BONO 2014 | Vincent van Gogh: Gauguin’s Chair,
1888 Arles (detail) | Edvard Munch at Ekely ca
1931. Photographic self-portrait. © Munch Museum
| Jakob Weidemann: Partisan, 1946 (detail). ©
Jakob Weidemann/BONO 2014 | Bjarne Engebret:
Composition in Red, 1935 (detail). © Bjarne
Engebret/BONO 2014 | Edvard Munch: Blossom of
Pain (Quickborn), 1897 (detail)
Best regards,
Hallstein Bjercke
Head of Department of Cultural Affairs and Business
City of Oslo
Double spread (p. 12–13): Detail from the
catalogue Melgaard+Munch
The Munch Museum is an independent agency of
the City of Oslo.
3
TIT TEL T IL L EG G S T I T T EL
The new Munch Museum in Bjørvika will provide optimal conditions for
Norway’s conceivably most important contribution to world heritage – the
Munch Collection. The museum’s prominent location in the city’s harbour
area is a signal of how important art is for our city.
4
THE MUN CH MUSEUM
RELEVANT, INSPIRING
AND VERSATILE
The Munch Museum’s aim is to be a relevant, inspiring and versatile
player, in the art world as well as in our community. Our aim is to
inspire our guests to return regularly for recreation and stimulation.
Throughout 2015 and 2016 the Munch Museum will present a
series of six exhibitions in which we show the work of another
artist together with Edvard Munch’s oeuvre. The series allows us
the opportunity to present important artists, at the same time that
juxtaposing them to Munch opens the door for reflection and new
insight. In this context, our collaboration with the Van Gogh Museum
in Amsterdam is one of this year’s international highlights.
In the Stenersen Museum we present an exhibition programme in
keeping with the museum’s history, including both the in-house
collection and contemporary art. This year’s programme at our two
venues is extensive and wide-ranging and I dare say will distinguish Photo: © Vegard Kleven
the Munch Museum as an important arena in the international art world.
The exhibition programme has been made possible with funding from Idemitsu Petroleum Norge, and
provides a general indication of the artistic profile the public can look forward to in the new Munch
Museum in the Oslo harbour area of Bjørvika.
Aside from an exciting exhibition programme the Munch Museum offers a number of arrangements
and activities, such as artist talks, lectures and presentations. The Oslo Philharmonic Chamber Music
Series is a concert programme we are proud of, and new this year is an exciting debate programme
arranged in collaboration with Deloitte Norway. The Munch Museum also offers an extensive programme
for children and young adults via workshops and guided tours for families.
The annual research seminar, arranged in collaboration with the University of Oslo and the National
Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, attracts scholars from all over the world and is open to all
interested parties. Our extensive research programme is made possible by funding from the Bergesen
Foundation, the Fritt Ord Foundation and Arts Council Norway.
There is great interest in Munch’s art internationally, as demonstrated by the more than 31 000 articles
in the press about Munch in the past year. It is therefore an important task to make his art available
to a public outside Norway as well. We achieve this primarily via an extensive exhibition programme
abroad, but also by publishing an increasing portion of our collection on the Internet, in addition to
overseeing an international distribution of publications.
For those of you who have a particular interest in art, we recommend our membership programme,
realised with financial assistance from Canica AS. The programme offers special benefits in the
museum and also gives you the opportunity to contribute to our important work.
Welcome to the Munch Museum in 2015.
Stein Olav Henrichsen
Museum Director
Illustration: Estudio Herreros
5
C O N TEN T S
CONTENTS
The Munch Museum’s exhibitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8
Doesn’t Compare Himself to Munch
A Conversation with Bjarne Melgaard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
14
Two Iconic Artists in a Long-Awaited Exhibition
A Conversation with Curators Maite van Dijk and Magne Bruteig . . . .
18
Out of Memos – An Exhibition Emerges
A Conversation with Curator Trine Otte Bak Nielsen . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
The Stenersen Museum’s Exhibitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Committed to Resistance
Espen Søbye on Guttorm Guttormsgaard’s Artistic Career . . . . . . . . 30
The Edvard Munch Art Award . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
The Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra’s Chamber Music Concerts at the
Munch Museum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
37
Munch in Norway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
38
International Exhibitions and Collaborations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
48
The Waterfront Ideas – New Debate Series . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
57
Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
60
Books, Films and Music . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
67
Guided Tours and Other Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
70
Calendar of Events 2015 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
72
Contact Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
74
The Munch Museum’s Membership Club . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
76
Edvard Munch in the winter studio at Ekely on the
occasion of his 75th birthday in 1938 (detail).
Photo: Ragnvald Væring. © O. Væring Eftf.
6
C A LENDA R
EXHIBITIONS
31 January–12 April
7 February–21 June
Melgaard+Munch
– Known Unknown
10
28
What relevance does
Edvard Munch have
today? And how can
Munch’s art be viewed in new
ways through a contemporary
artist like Bjarne Melgaard? In this
exhibition the Munch Museum
examines these and related
questions.
June–September
Edvard Munch at Ekely
38
Edvard Munch’s studio
at Ekely is open to the
public during the summer
under the supervision of the
Munch Museum. The building is
an experience in itself, while an
exhibition based on documentary
material and an audio-visual
presentation chronicles Munch’s
life and work at Ekely.
9 May–6 September
has been a central figure
in the Norwegian art
world since the 1960s. His artistic
career spans a number of phases,
mediums and idioms. The exhibition
in the Stenersen Museum presents
this copious and important oeuvre
for the first time in its full scope.
18 September–13 December
18 September–13 December
Into the Crucible
– The Early Weidemann
From the Stenersen Collection:
Norwegian Modernism and
Avant-garde, 1900–1950
32
34
Jakob Weidemann
is considered one of
Norway’s leading visual
artists of the twentieth century.
We wish to devote extra attention
to Weidemann’s many works in
Rolf E. Stenersen’s Collection from
the period 1942–1961, by many
considered to be his most daring,
experimental and complex. The
exhibition will also include loans
from private and public collections.
In this exhibition we
encounter artists and
art movements that had
great historical significance for
the development of Modernism
in Norwegian visual art. Many of
them also represent avant-garde
trends in the otherwise rather
conventional art milieu in Norway
in the interwar period.
7
Van Gogh+Munch
16
Be prepared for the art
event of the year. These
two great artists will
compete for the first time together
in a dual exhibition based on
a collaboration between two of
the world’s leading monographic
museums; the Van Gogh Museum
in Amsterdam and the Munch
Museum.
3 October–17 January
Vigeland+Munch
22
For the first time a
major dual exhibition
will be devoted to two
giants in the history of Norwegian
art, Edvard Munch and Gustav
Vigeland. Their work, development
and ambitions have many
interesting traits in common,
which will provide the public with
an opportunity to discover new
connections between the two.
8
EXHIBITIONS
THE MUNCH MUSEUM
The Munch Museum introduces an ambitious two-year exhibition series called +Munch. Here Edvard Munch’s
art will be shown side by side with six other artists consecutively: Bjarne Melgaard, Vincent van Gogh, Gustav
Vigeland, Robert Mapplethorpe, Jasper Johns and Asger Jorn.
In other words, artists from Munch’s own lifetime as well as later generations, all the way up to our own time.
To present artists such as Van Gogh, Jasper Johns and Robert Mapplethorpe in a large scope for the first time
here in Norway is a sensation in itself. On that level the series points to a practice that will characterise the
exhibitions in the new Munch Museum, which will open in about five years’ time. Aside from Munch’s art, the
new museum’s programme will include modernist and contemporary art based on the Stenersen Collection.
And not least, we will actively exploit the opportunities that the Munch collection affords us to present international exhibitions, which we would otherwise not have been able to bring to Norway. Instead of presenting
Munch as an isolated figure, we will consistently place Munch’s work in relation to other art. This will open up
to new understanding and lead to a richer historical perspective on his art than we have previously had the
opportunity to demonstrate. It will also make Munch’s art more relevant to our own time.
The exhibitions of the next two years are intended as a form of elevated encounters between the works of
two artists. They are placed in relation to each other in ways that will open up to new layers of meaning in
their work. This of course goes both ways, as it always does in a relationship. The encounters will alternate
from confrontation and disparity to connections and influence. In some cases it is a question of direct
dialogue, while in others, parallels that we can see in hindsight will emerge, or a combination of these.
The series will begin in January with the exhibition Melgaard+Munch. Here the public will meet one of
Norway’s most provocative and celebrated contemporary artists – Bjarne Melgaard – in communication
and confrontation with Edvard Munch’s art. There is much that divides them as artists, at the same time
that there are evident common traits. The exhibition will without a doubt shed new light on both Munch and
Melgaard. The second exhibition in the line of artist encounters presents one of the most mythologised and
prominent figures in modern art – Vincent van Gogh. The grand-scale exhibition Van Gogh+Munch has been
under preparation by the Munch Museum for almost five years, in close collaboration with the Van Gogh
Museum in Amsterdam. It is the first exhibition that treats these pioneering artists, who were both decisive
for the emergence of Expressionism in the beginning of the 20th century. The third encounter between
artists hails from a more domestic arena. Vigeland+Munch is the first major exhibition that investigates
the associations between the Norwegian sculptor Gustav Vigeland and Edvard Munch. These two have
traditionally been seen as archenemies, but here we will demonstrate that the picture is far more nuanced.
These three exhibitions are really something to look forward to!
Edvard Munch: At the Roulette Table in Monte Carlo, 1892
9
E X HIBITIO NS T HE MUN C H MUSEUM
THE END OF IT ALL HAS ALREADY HAPPENED
What relevance does Edvard Munch
have today? And how can Munch’s
art be viewed in new ways via a
contemporary artist like Bjarne
Melgaard? The Munch Museum will
explore these questions in the exhibition
Melgaard+Munch.
Edvard Munch is often mentioned in connection with Bjarne Melgaard’s art, but little has been done
to examine what might underlie the relationship between these two artists. One could interject that it
is both easy and tempting to resort to Munch’s name when mentioning potential new stars in the constellation of Norwegian art. But as the exhibition will demonstrate, there are a number of connections
between Munch’s and Melgaard’s art that run far deeper than sensation and scandal.
On a purely formal level it is obvious that Melgaard has been influenced by Munch in one way or
another. One can find clear traces of Munch’s late painting style and spontaneous line drawing in
Melgaard’s expressive brushwork. In Melgaard one can also find numerous references to Munch
motifs, such as Death and Life (1894), Kiss (1897) and The Hands (1893–94). With these motifs as
a point of reference, Melgaard cites Munch several times and quite directly by developing the motifs
and interpreting them in light of his own artistic project. One example of this is Untitled (Couple) from
1997, where he develops the figures in Munch’s Kiss. Yet the exhibition will demonstrate that there
is a kinship between Munch and Melgaard, which reflects far more fundamental aspects of their art
than painting styles and citations. In Munch’s and Melgaard’s works one finds not only similar motifs,
but also a thematic kinship that makes it meaningful to see these two artists side by side.
With references to themes such as sexuality, gender, death, loneliness and alienation, both artists
deal with central experiences encountered by the human being in modern society, yet set against the
backdrop of their own time. Structured around various themes, the main focus of the exhibition will be
directed towards how the two, each in their own way, treat issues related to ideology and social criticism.
By presenting a number of artworks by Munch and Melgaard side by side in the Munch Museum,
this exhibition explores how, in different ways and employing different motifs, their projects revolve
around a similar romantic and dystopian critique of modern civilisation.
Through his historical significance and popularity, Munch’s art has been subjected to considerable
exposure in a widespread public context, but few have posed questions about this exposure and what
his relevance might consist of today, other than as a cultural historical icon. With this exhibition the
museum wishes to shed light on Munch’s social relevance today.
Contemporary, political and critical issues form a central part of Melgaard’s oeuvre. With references
to political and social issues, often in the guise of phenomena found in marginalised and subculture
milieus, he has posed provoking and critical questions throughout his artistic career. Based on this
perspective we will investigate the relationship between the artists’ critical potential, and not least, how
Munch’s art holds up in relation to Melgaard’s critique of the social and political conditions of our time.
Period: 31 January–12 April
Place: The Munch Museum
Curator: Lars Toft-Eriksen
Catalogue: Melgaard+Munch.
Interview with Bjarne Melgaard and
articles by Patricia G. Berman, David
Lomas and Øystein Sjåstad. Editor
Lars Toft-Eriksen.
Publisher: Hatje Cantz in collaboration
with the Munch Museum.
Aside from works by Edvard Munch the exhibition is structured around a number of older works by
Bjarne Melgaard, which encompass painting, drawing, video and sculpture. Melgaard also contributes
a number of new works, which are assembled together in one room. Here he presents a series of
paintings and a group of sculptures that revolve around the theme “Skater Rats”, and one can perhaps
sense something of the same atmosphere found in Munch’s painting Melancholy from 1891. This part
of the exhibition also includes a soundtrack, textile dolls and articles of clothing made in collaboration
with the fashion label 69. Through these works Melgaard demonstrates his relationship with Munch,
and what he feels is important about his predecessor.
Bjarne Melgaard: Sketch for
Skater Rats, 2014 (detail).
© Bjarne Melgaard/BONO 2014
10
DOESN’T COMPARE HIMSELF
TO MUNCH
– Munch was just as important in the development of how we read emotional states as psychotherapy is today, says contemporary
artist Bjarne Melgaard. This winter he will exhibit side by side with Edvard Munch, an artist he describes as his favorite.
TEXT: ANDRÉ GALI
– You have been compared to Edvard Munch in the past, both in terms of
artistic problems and thematics, as well as in terms of painterly style. How
do you feel about this comparison?
melancholia, depression and loneliness are just as important to me as the
subjects of sex, death and disease. My own contribution to the exhibition
will touch on those themes for sure. Nonetheless, the themes of death, sex
and disease are kind of unavoidable in a civilization like ours that has just
gone to hell, so I guess it’s not possible to ignore them. I really feel we are
at our wits’ end and that we live in a civilization that has already just gone
straight to hell. The end of it all has already happened. So I guess in that
sense life and death will be very present in the show.
– I don’t think much of that comparison, because I don’t compare myself,
or what I do, to other artists. I am much more interested in creating an
individual universe than putting myself in historical contexts way too early.
I think there is a danger in writing your own history during your own time.
But Edvard Munch definitively remains my favorite artist and it’s an honor
to be able to show my work next to his.
– You will be showing new works, could you say a bit about that, and does
it relate to Munch in any way?
–What are your thoughts on exhibiting together with Munch in a museum
dedicated to the artist?
– I am showing a series of paintings done in collaboration with the fashion
label 69, which is located in California, primarily working with denim in very
marginal and explorative ways. I wanted to mix in a fashion reference to kind
of take away a bit of the dusty feel of the atmosphere surrounding Munch.
There are also some other paintings which have hooks drilled into them, with
everything from bath towels to jewelry hanging in front of them. I don’t really
plan my shows in very much detail until just before I am about to hang the
show, in order to leave room for more improvisation. I think the end result
will be pretty dense in juxtaposition to Munch, and also in a way does not
really refer to him at all as the historical figure we all know him as. I have
my own very personal relationship with Munch and I think this will become
obvious when you see the exhibition and my contribution.
– I think it’s really great to have the opportunity to do a show at his museum
and to have my work next to his, but I also think Munch’s legacy could be a
bit more updated. He was a much more controversial figure in his lifetime
than he is seen today. I think it could be interesting to try to bring back some
of the actual themes he explored during his day. He was in fact a single
artist who set parameters for how we read and describe emotions today. In
my view, Munch was just as important in the development of how we read
emotional states as contemporary psychotherapy. Also, he was not afraid of
describing emotional states that, even today, people have difficulties with.
I think there is only a part of my artistic practice
that is provocative; it’s possible too that it’s the
side most people want to see.
–Your artworks are often described as provocative and controversial, terms
that were often used about Munch´s works as well, what do you think about
this side of your art?
– I think there is only a part of my artistic practice that is provocative; it’s
possible too that it’s the side most people want to see. But I don’t at all think
that I deliberately set out to provoke. I just work with people and themes that I
am interested in at the time and that are part of my lifestyle. Also, what seems
so provocative in my work isn’t necessarily provocative to me as a person. It
can simply be something that I am fascinated by and want to explore, and
that’s it. And the art world is not very hard to provoke anyway. People are
pretty easy to upset. It’s fun sometimes to stir things up a bit.
–You and Munch share subject matters like sex, illness and death. Are these
subjects that you feel are important to explore in your art?
Edvard Munch: Disturbed Vision, 1930
– The many descriptions of mental states in Munch’s work like jealousy,
“I have my own very personal relationship with Munch and I think this will
become obvious when you see the exhibition and my contribution”, says Bjarne
Melgaard.
Here photographed in his studio in New York. Photo: © Geordie Wood 2014
14
15
Be prepared for the art event of the year
in 2015! These two great artists will
compete for the first time together in a
dual exhibition based on a collaboration
between two of the world’s leading
monographic museums; the Van Gogh
Museum in Amsterdam and the Munch
Museum.
Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890) and Edvard Munch (1863–1944) are two distinctive and influential
artists. Both created art with a strong emotional content expressed via a personal and innovative style,
and both lived troubled lives. The public and art historians alike have often compared them to each
other. And there are striking parallels between their art and their artistic aims. They each represented
an artistic turn towards existential and universal themes in new and expressive idioms. Yet despite
these obvious common traits, which have been underscored time and again in art history and art
criticism since the end of the 1800s, the more profound connections between the two artists have
never been thoroughly illuminated in the context of an exhibition.
The exhibition Van Gogh+Munch will for the first time explore the similarities and connections between
these two artists; those that immediately jump out at you as well as those that exist on a deeper level.
Rather than uncritically accepting established perceptions, the exhibition will take a closer look at
their artistic point of departure, the influences they were exposed to, the development in style and
technique and the artistic goals they set for themselves, and in this way create a deeper understanding
of why the two are so often compared to each other.
Paris became a turning point for both artists. A confrontation with the new art trends liberated the
potential they harboured within while simultaneously challenging them to formulate their own programme. Although their works may be different with regard to motif and implementation, they were
both preoccupied with giving expression to the condition of modern man, and they accomplished
this by pressing painterly means to the utmost: a vibrant palette, a highly stylised idiom, personal and
bold brushwork and unconventional compositions are characteristic of them both. Van Gogh used
crude colour contrasts in The Yellow House in order to depict the intense summer heat of southern
France; Munch distorted the perspective and feeling of space in The Death Room in order to create
an emotionally charged and angst-filled atmosphere.
Another noticeable trait that Munch and Van Gogh had in common was that both developed ambitious
projects in which a number of pictures formed a larger whole. Munch’s most famous picture series is The
Frieze of Life, which encompasses most of his major works from the 1890s with the universal themes
of love, angst and death. Van Gogh developed a project he called Décoration: a series of independent
pictures that gained enhanced significance when shown together. As Munch wrote: “When they were
positioned together there immediately arose a resonance between them and they became totally different than when displayed individually. It became a symphony.” This fascinating structural process is
represented in the exhibition with a selection of major works from Décoration and The Frieze of Life.
Period: 9 May–6 September
Curators: Maite van Dijk, Magne
Bruteig and Jon-Ove Steihaug
Catalogue: Van Gogh+Munch. Articles
by Reinhold Heller, Jill Lloyd and Uwe
Schneede, among others. Editors
Maite van Dijk and Magne Bruteig.
Publisher: Mercatorfonds in collaboration with the Van Gogh Museum and
the Munch Museum.
The exhibition will conclude with a section featuring works that the artists themselves considered
significant, so that in a sense they function as an artistic testament. These works are gripping expressions of vital themes such as comfort, suffering, love and the cycle of life. Munch and Van Gogh
succeeded in finding a universal and direct expression for human life. Works such as The Sick Child,
The Scream, Wheatfield with Reaper and Starry Night over the Rhône underscore the kinship between
the two artists on a deeper and more fundamental level.
The exhibition will encompass approximately 75 paintings and 30 works on paper, including about
ten comparative works by other artists. Both museums will contribute a discerning selection of major
works for the exhibition, complemented by important loans from other museums and private collectors.
The catalogue will contain articles related to the exhibition’s various themes, in addition to texts that
treat other subjects, such as the artists’ writings and the history of the reception of their work. In
addition to articles by the curators of the exhibition, well-known art historians such as Jill Lloyd, Uwe
Schneede and Reinhold Heller will also contribute texts.
16
Edvard Munch: Self-portrait, 1886. National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Oslo.
Photo: © National Museum
Vincent van Gogh: Self-portrait with Grey Felt Hat, 1887 Paris
Vincent van Gogh: Wheatfield with a Reaper, 1889 Saint-Rémy-de-Provence
17
TWO ICONIC ARTISTS IN A
LONG-AWAITED EXHIBITION
–The art world has been waiting for an exhibition like this for a long time, says Magne Bruteig, who together with among others Maite
van Dijk from the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam has curated the first large dual exhibition of Edvard Munch and Vincent van Gogh
since 1912. I have spoken to van Dijk and Bruteig about the similarities between the two artists, and the curators could promise both
iconic works and works you may never have seen before.
TEXT: ANDRÉ GALI
– How did the idea to show an exhibition of Edvard Munch and Vincent van
Gogh together develop?
even though they could have done so. On a number of occasions when
Munch came to Paris, Van Gogh had just left, and vice versa, but there
was one exhibition we know they both visited in 1889, so we can fantasize
that they met. There is no written evidence to support this, however, so we
can only speculate about it.
Maite van Dijk: I think that it was in the air that there is an affinity between
Munch and Van Gogh. It is not uncommon that people mistake the work of
one for the other. We did a survey at the Van Gogh Museum where we looked
at frequently asked questions about Van Gogh, and one of them was “why isn’t
The Scream in this museum?”. People obviously believed that Van Gogh painted
it. So that shows that people link these two artists together. While looking at
a painting by Munch five years ago, we thought it would be a great idea to
show these two iconic artists
together, so we approached
During the brief course of his life
the Munch Museum in Oslo,
Van Gogh did not allow his flame
and Magne Bruteig, and they
to be extinguished – Fire and
were interested in the idea.
ardour were in his brush during
– Would you say that Munch was influenced by Van Gogh’s work?
Magne Bruteig: It is often difficult to talk about influences, because artists are
always picking up ideas from what they see, but I would say that Munch was
very much inspired by Van Gogh’s work. We know that Munch was well informed
about other artists in general, and that he virtually absorbed everything that was
going on around him and knew about the defining artists of his time. The art
historian Julius Meier-Graefe, who was a friend of Munch’s in the early days,
was very interested in Van Gogh. In the beginning of the 1900s Meier-Graefe
wrote favourably about Van Gogh and less favourably about Munch, and after
this it appears that Munch changed his style a little. Meier-Graefe was the first
to write extensively about the artistic affinity between the two artists.
the few years that he consumed
himself for his art
– In the longer course of my life
and with more money at my disposal, I had thought and desired,
like he, not to allow my flame to
become extinguished and with burning brush to paint until the end
Magne Bruteig: When Maite
approached us, I was enthusiastic about it from the
start, because it is not just
the general public who links
these artists together. I think
the art world has been waiting
for an exhibition like this for
Edvard Munch, 23 October 1933
a long time. There was one
famous exhibition in 1912 where an even larger number of paintings by Van
Gogh and Munch were included as part of a large overview of modern art, but
aside from that these two artists have not been seen together on this scale. We
have selected a large number of works including some very well-known ones
by both artists, but also works rarely seen, which are important in this context.
Maite van Dijk: As Magne says, influence is a very difficult word to use when
talking about art, it is more a poetic interpretation of someone else’s work,
which is processed into something new. But especially after 1900 you can
see that Van Gogh has influenced Munch in the landscape paintings. You
can also see similarities between Van Gogh and Munch in their bold use of
colour and the way they build their composition and perspective.
– Munch and Van Gogh were both in the process of establishing themselves
as artists in the 1880s and frequented some of the same milieus, and both
travelled to Paris on various occasions. To what degree did the artists know
about each other?
Magne Bruteig: Munch eventually became interested in and knew Van
Gogh’s art very well. There is a passage in Munch’s writings where he
refers to Van Gogh: “Fire and ardour were in his brush during the few years
that he consumed himself for his art”. Munch seems to have felt that he
shared a particular passion with Van Gogh, at least he admired his energy.
“Van Gogh wanted art to be about everyday life and come from the heart. For Gauguin art
should come from the head. For Munch art should also come from the heart”, says Maite van
Dijk, who together with Magne Bruteig, among others, has curated the comprehensive exhibition
Van Gogh+Munch. Photo: © Munch Museum (Tone Margrethe Gauden)
Maite van Dijk: They circulated in some of the same milieus in Paris, and
knew the same people, but there is no evidence that they actually met,
Edvard Munch: Starry Night, 1922–24
18
19
– Paris seems to have been important for the development of both artists,
what was going on there at that time?
Maite van Dijk: In hindsight I think we make their lives more important
than they were because of the art. The general public is virtually obsessed
with their lives, which read almost like a Hollywood drama, but it is difficult
sometimes to separate the myths from the artworks. I believe that the myths
are not that important to understanding the art and I think both museums
are struggling to draw attention back to the art.
Magne Bruteig: Paris was extremely important for them both. After they
moved to Paris they started developing into the artists whom we have
come to know as Munch and Van Gogh. They picked up every new artistic
development in Paris, tried new techniques and took what they needed from
different artists. You had Impressionism and Post-impressionism going on
at that time as well. And Paul Gauguin was important to them, especially
to Van Gogh, but Munch was also inspired by Gauguin.
– Are there any particular works you would like to mention that will be shown
in this exhibition?
Maite van Dijk: There are some works where you really can sense that
Munch must have seen a certain painting by Van Gogh, but I feel that
some of the important pictures are those that don’t really strike you as
similar, but have a similarity in that they present a strong message to the
public about human suffering, love, spirituality … There will be a section
in the exhibition devoted to paintings that most strongly depict themes like
those about human existence, with The Scream placed next to a picture
by Van Gogh of a wheatfield beneath thunderclouds, for example – both
deal with the forces of nature but using very different imagery. For me this
is the core of the exhibition.
Maite van Dijk: Gauguin and Van Gogh spent time together, but they had
different conceptions about what art should be and there is the famous
story about how that friendship ended. Van Gogh wanted art to be about
everyday life and come from the heart. For Gauguin art should come from
the head. For Munch art should also come from the heart.
– Both artists led dramatic lives, and the myths about them seem to emphasize the connection between the two. To what degree have the artists’
lives been relevant to you when working with this exhibition?
Magne Bruteig: One has to say that Van Gogh’s life was more dramatic,
but Munch also lived a rather dramatic life at times, and he had a mental
breakdown in 1908. What is interesting is that they both grew up in somewhat similar Protestant circumstances. Van Gogh’s father was a minister
in the Protestant church, while Munch’s father was a doctor who was very
religious minded.
Magne Bruteig: To mention some favourites, I would like to draw attention
to a couple of drawings by Van Gogh. In general the drawings are astonishingly accomplished and powerful. Among the selection in the exhibition
is a wonderful early pen drawing of an alley of birches, and a late reed-pen
drawing of trees overgrown with ivy in the garden of his asylum.
Vincent van Gogh: Pollard Birches, 1884 Nuenen
20
Vincent van Gogh: The Potato Eaters, 1885 Nuenen
Edvard Munch: Death in the Sick Room, 1896
21
For the first time a major dual exhibition
will be devoted to two giants in the
history of Norwegian art, Edvard Munch
and Gustav Vigeland. Their work,
development and ambitions have many
interesting traits in common, which will
provide the public with an opportunity
to discover new connections between
the two.
Munch (1863–1944) and Vigeland (1869–1943) worked during the same period. One primarily as
a painter and printmaker, the other as a sculptor. With only a six-year difference in age, they were
affiliated with the same circles and influenced by the same contemporary art movements. And for a
period they both lived and worked – even in adjoining rooms – in Berlin.
The connection between Munch and Vigeland has often been mentioned, yet has never been the
subject of in-depth investigations. Many are of the opinion that the two were rivals. This exhibition
wishes to clarify the connections between them by presenting their artistic careers side by side, from
the time they began studying at The Royal College of Design in Kristiania, to the time they became
well-established artists at Ekely and Frogner respectively. A red thread running through the exhibition
is their common development with regard to choice of motifs. For example when they followed the
contemporary trends and depicted angst-filled characters, ambiguous love motifs or ominous Judgement Day motifs. The works of a young and not yet famous Vigeland are highlighted here, from a time
when his sculptures had a more dramatic content and were smaller in format than the ones we know
from the Vigeland Park. An interesting similarity from a later period can be found in the artists’ works
representing monumental renderings of entangled piles of human bodies, such as Munch’s painting
The Human Mountain and Vigeland’s sculpture The Monolith.
There are many interesting connections that open up to new ways of viewing the two artists. From
reciprocal influence and common sources of inspiration, to thematic and formal similarities. In certain
instances it is difficult to distinguish one from the other, while in a larger perspective one can clearly
see the striking differences.
The contemporary perception of Munch and Vigeland as artists that were typical of the period
around the turn of the last century is examined and highlighted in the exhibition. As when
Sigbjørn Obstfelder in 1894 enthusiastically writes that both were artists “[...] whose works express
a coherent worldview” for instance. The Polish writer Stanislaw Przybyszewski (1868–1927) is
also significant as the first one to publish texts about the two of them abroad. He was a central
figure in the art milieu in Berlin in the 1890s, where many Scandinavian artists lived – among
them Munch and Vigeland. Przybyszewski was very excited about the two Norwegians, whom
he considered to be representative of the spirit of the times.
Period: 3 October–17 January
Curator: Trine Otte Bak Nielsen
Catalogue: Vigeland+Munch.
Articles by Per Faxneld, Erik Mørstad, Petra Pettersen, Erika Gohde
Sandbakken, Guri Skuggen and
Jarle Strømodden, among others.
Editor Trine Otte Bak Nielsen.
Publisher: Mercatorfonds in
collaboration with the
Munch Museum.
Munch’s work with sculpture has until now been a relatively unknown aspect of his oeuvre. After
the year 1900 he made several attempts at sculpting, which resulted in several medium-sized
clay, gesso and bronze sculptures. A large selection of these will be shown to the public for
the first time, thus providing an opportunity to become acquainted with Munch’s experiments
with the three-dimensional form. Among other things his monumental sculpture The Human
Mountain will be exhibited alongside models of Vigeland’s The Monolith.
Aside from paintings, sculptures, drawings and graphic works, the exhibition will consist of
letters, photos, newspaper articles, magazines and books. The exhibition has been arranged in
a fruitful collaboration with the Vigeland Museum and the National Museum of Art, Architecture
and Design, both of whom have lent us important works.
An illustrated catalogue will accompany the exhibition, where Stanislaw Przybyszewski’s text
Edvard Munch’s Works from 1894 will be published for the first time in Norwegian and
English. Przybyszewski’s article about Gustav Vigeland, On the Paths of the Soul,
from 1895 will also be included, in addition to a number of new scholarly articles.
Edvard Munch: Blossom of Pain (“Quickborn”), 1897 (detail)
Gustav Vigeland: Man Embraced by a Tree, 1900. Vigeland Museum
22
U T S TILLIN G ER MUN C HMUSEE T
OUT OF MEMOS
– AN EXHIBITION EMERGES
For many years art historian Trine Otte Bak Nielsen dreamt of realising “the ultimate exhibition” in which the life and work of Edvard
Munch and Gustav Vigeland were shown together. Her dream has become reality in her very first project as a recently employed curator
at the Munch Museum.
TEXT: JANICKE IVERSEN
– Edvard Munch’s art has interested me since my student days, and I wrote
my thesis on his bathing scenes from Warnemünde (1907–08). I feel it is a
privilege to have the opportunity to work with the museum’s collection, and
right now I am contributing among other things to completing a catalogue
raisonné of Munch’s drawings. In addition I think it is particularly interesting
to place Munch in connection with his contemporaries, and in this way create
exhibitions that show how his works were part of the artistic movements of
that period in Europe.
– Tell me a little about the background for your first large project at the Munch
Museum, the Vigeland+Munch exhibition.
– The idea of creating an exhibition where Edvard Munch and Gustav Vigeland
are shown together originated when I began working at the Vigeland Museum
seven years ago. I continuously came over evidence of relatively unknown
“points of contact” between the two artists, which place them in connection
with one another both personally and artistically. These repeated “finds” ended
up as a pile of notes and memos in a drawer, which now comprise a major
part of the material in the final realisation of the exhibition.
– Why is it important to compare the two artists?
– Munch and Vigeland lived and worked during the same period. They were
influenced and inspired by the same contemporary movements, and at times
belonged to the same artists’ circles both in Norway and abroad. We can also
see that their works have several common traits, among others with regard to
subject matter and choice of motif. Given that Munch and Vigeland are two
of the most important artists in Norwegian art history, I believe it is important
that we take a closer look at the relationship between their respective artistic
productions. This has not been done before to any great extent, and I feel that
the time is right now, responds Nielsen with enthusiasm.
Photo: © Tor Erik Horvei
– Why did you become an art historian?
– I acquired an interest in the subject already in high school when I was
taking an art class. I decided rather quickly that I would study art history at
the University of Oslo, and when I began my studies I became very inspired.
It was actually a painting by Edvard Munch, Metabolism, which led to my first
defining experience in a classroom situation of how interesting art history can
be as a profession. We analysed the work for several hours and as a student this
gave me insight into all of the possibilities that are involved in studying just one
single work or a particular area of an artist’s oeuvre, replies Nielsen pensively.
– What would you point out as the most interesting aspect of the exhibition?
– It is difficult to select only one thing, but I am personally very pleased that we
can show Vigeland’s monumental relief, Hell. This work forms part of the exhibition’s “Doomsday Room”, where death and Judgement Day are central themes.
– What sort of background and experience have you brought with you to the
Munch Museum?
– What is the most challenging aspect of the exhibition?
– I bring with me a rather broad range of experience based on historically
oriented as well as contemporary art. In the past I have worked on the staff at
the artist-run gallery Kunstnerforbundet, as coordinator of the Munch jubilee in
2013 and as curator at the Vigeland Museum. In addition I have for a number
of years been co-editor of the art magazine Kunstforum.
– Most of Vigeland’s works are on loan from the Vigeland Museum and the
National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, and transporting them to the
Munch Museum in a secure manner is a complicated job. Vigeland’s works are
both large and heavy – the bronze relief Hell, for instance, weighs 800 kilos,
concludes Nielsen with an optimistic smile.
– Why did you wish to work at the Munch Museum?
Gustav Vigeland: Hell, 1897, bronze relief (detail). National
Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Oslo.
Photo: © National Museum (Jacques Lathion)
24
25
26
EXHIBITIONS
THE STENERSEN
MUSEUM
The Stenersen Museum will feature two main events in 2015. In February we open our doors
to the exhibition Guttorm Guttormsgaard – Known Unknown. Since the 1960s Guttormsgaard
has been one of our leading graphic artists and draughtsmen, and he is behind some of the
most outstanding public art decorations that have been made in Norway in the past decades.
In recent years he has also made his personal and extensive “archive” of books, pictures and
objects from every conceivable clime and epoch available to the public. It is the first time
the entire exhibiting space of the Stenersen Museum will be devoted to one artist, and the
first time that Guttormsgaard’s oeuvre will be shown in its full scope. We can safely say that
this is an unusual oeuvre that has not been fronted primarily by galleries and art museums.
Guttormsgaard has on the contrary gone his own way, driven by a tenacious fascination with
the reproduced image, for books and fonts and other phenomena in the borderland of art.
The stage is therefore set for an immersion into an important and somewhat underexposed
artistic career.
The autumn season in the museum is devoted to Jakob Weidemann (1923–2001). The exhibition
Into the Crucible – The Early Weidemann extends from the WWII years, when he studied at
the art academy in Stockholm, to the time of his definitive breakthrough as a non-figurative
artist in the early 1960s. It is here that Weidemann is at his most daring, experimental and
complex. In this decisive period of his artistic career he attained a position in Norway as the
most prominent artist of his time. The exhibition is based on our own extensive collection
of early works by Weidemann, but will be supplemented with loans from private and public
collections.
Throughout the autumn we will also show a presentation of works from from the Stenersen
Collection called Norwegian Modernism and Avant-Garde, 1900–1950. In this exhibition we
encounter artists and art movements that had great historical significance for the development
of Modernism in Norwegian visual art. Many of them also represent avant-garde trends in the
otherwise rather conventional art milieu in Norway in the interwar period.
The exhibitions at the Stenersen Museum will delve deeply and encompass a wide range of works.
Jakob Weidemann: Black and Yellow Composition, 1957.
Rolf E. Stenersen’s Collection, Munch Museum.
© Jakob Weidemann/BONO 2014
27
E X HIBITIO NS T HE S T ENE RSEN MUSEUM
GUTTORM GUTTORMSGAARD
– KNOWN UNKNOWN
Guttorm Guttormsgaard has been a
central figure in the Norwegian art
world since the 1960s. His artistic
career spans a number of phases,
mediums and idioms. The exhibition at
the Stenersen Museum presents this
copious and important oeuvre for the
first time in its full scope.
Guttorm Guttormsgaard (b. 1938) is one of Norway’s leading graphic artists and draughtsmen. He
has been a prominent teacher at the School of Architecture and Design and the National Academy of
the Arts in Oslo, and has executed public art commissions in Oslo Spektrum, and at the University of
Tromsø. Aside from this he has accumulated a highly unique collection in the former Blaker Diary in the
village of Blaker 48 kilometres east of Oslo, where he has lived and worked for the past twenty years.
In spite of its retrospective approach the exhibition at the Stenersen Museum will reveal that Guttormsgaard
is an artist who is still fully active. Among other things he has gained considerable attention in the past
seven years with the project he calls Guttormsgaard’s Archive – a cornucopia of a collection that he has
amassed during the past forty years. This “archive” is comprised of books, pictures and objects, all of
which are related to his own art in various ways. It encompasses interests, fascinations and attitudes
that have been sustained throughout his entire artistic career. Seen in the light of the strong interest in
archives in contemporary art of recent years, this long-standing collection project appears as uniquely
relevant. Another thing that makes Guttormsgaard relevant, not least with respect to the art of younger
generations, is his unorthodox and self-defined exhibition practice in Blaker Dairy since the early 2000s
and his zealous work with the artist book medium.
That an artist who has been active for half a century would take on such a project so late in his career is
not something to take for granted. The retrospective exhibition intends to shed light on the significance
of Guttormsgaard’s artistic career and put it in perspective. This has not been done before. He has in
many ways been passed by in silence by our art museums during the past decades. This can in part
be attributed to his deliberate decision to distance himself from the gallery scene and the art market
towards the end of the 1980s, in order to devote himself to a number of large public art commissions.
Guttormsgaard had his first solo exhibition in Oslo Kunstforening in 1963. He had just completed his
studies at the National College of Art and Design (now part of the Oslo National Academy of the Arts)
under teachers such as Chrix Dahl, Finn Faaborg and Gert Jynge, and at the Royal Danish Academy of
Fine Arts. After that he was assistant to the Norwegian artist Sigurd Winge for a few years. A two-year
stay in India at the end of the 1960s was a pivotal experience, and among other travels that have left
a deep impression on his art was a four-month stay in China in 1980. The exhibition at the Stenersen
Museum will focus on this aspect of his oeuvre for the first time.
Throughout the 1970s and into the 80s Guttormsgaard was primarily known as a prominent graphic
artist. He devoted himself in particular to intaglio printing, using drypoint and etching techniques. His
broader interest in graphics, such as the reproduced image, typography and printmaking, was expressed
during this period in his collection of incunabula (books printed before the year 1500) and Russian
avant-garde books.
Period: 7 February–21 June
Place: The Stenersen Museum
Curator: Jon-Ove Steihaug
Catalogue: Guttorm Guttormsgaard –
Known Unknown. Articles by Johanna
Drucker, Lars Mørch Finborud, Ellef
Prestsæther and Espen Søbye. Editor
Jon-Ove Steihaug.
Publisher: Pax Forlag in collaboration
with the Munch Museum.
The Stenersen Museum will present Guttormsgaard as graphic artist and draughtsman. Special attention
will be devoted among other things to his sketchbook diaries, which he has kept for several decades.
The exhibition will also document his most important public art projects. His work as an illustrator will
be given special attention, and his copious collection will naturally play an important role.
In connection with the exhibition, Pax Forlag is publishing a richly illustrated catalogue in collaboration
with the Munch Museum, edited by Jon-Ove Steihaug. It deals with the above-mentioned aspects of
Guttormsgaard’s oeuvre, with articles by Johanna Drucker, Lars Mørch Finborud, Ellef Prestsæther and
Espen Søbye among others.
Guttorm Guttormsgaard: Everything is far away, isn’t it, 1974 (detail).
© Guttorm Guttormsgaard /BONO 2014
28
COMMITTED TO RESISTANCE
A characterisation of Guttorm Guttormsgaard states that his method is free, yet carefully considered. The same source says that
Guttormsgaard is a central figure in the art world, not only as a creator of pictures, but also as a teacher and representative of his
profession. This can be read in print in the authoritative four-volume tome Norsk Kunstnerleksikon (Encyclopaedia of Norwegian Artists),
edited by the National Gallery in 1982; that is, more than 30 years ago, when Guttormsgaard, born in 1938, was 44 years old.
TEKST: ESPEN SØBYE
Many will agree that this characterisation of Guttormsgaard is still fitting,
even now that he is 76 years old. He is quite certainly in disagreement
with the characterisation. And he is right, is the exercise of a free method
inconsistent with serious reflection? Guttormsgaard is moreover not only a
leading graphic artist, as is stated in other official descriptions of his work,
he is a conservator of pictures, of things and of books. And quite frequently
it is a question of pictures and objects that others normally walk right past
because at first sight they appear commonplace and insignificant.
in is everyone in the entire world who does not go to museums. According
to which principles does Guttormsgaard incorporate objects in his arsenal?
Many have tried to explain it; my suggestion is as follows, and it is taken
from the Danish art educator and communist Rudolf Broby-Johansen. He
claimed that something called world art came into existence because it
was based on shapes from what he called everyday art; that is, the shapes of ordinary objects that surround us in our daily lives. This is a theory
Broby-Johansen developed in order to undermine snobbery.
Preserving such objects has been more or less a lifelong pastime for
Guttormsgaard, and all of them bear traces of where he studied and lived,
from the period he lived in Copenhagen, all of the unique printed material
from Greenland’s first printing press, bronze figures from a study tour in
India and the paper from China.
When Guttormsgaard fills the Stenersen Museum with objects, pictures,
books and posters, it will be the largest show of the Old Blaker Dairy
collections that has ever been mounted. The exhibitions at Blaker can be
seen as installations in themselves, unique works of art built out of a world
of objects. While Guttormsgaard was reticent to show his own artworks at
Blaker – graphic works, drawings, watercolours and diaries – they have now
been integrated into the colossal installation that this exhibition in fact is.
They are two universes that merge together.
You mustn’t believe it is a museum that Guttormsgaard has established
in the Old Blaker Dairy, which he took over in 1989 together with his colleague Søren Ubisch. The retreat to Blaker was an act of defence against
the offensiveness of the yuppie period that had attacked the capital and
its art scene. For years Guttormsgaard invited the public to Blaker to view
postcards of mountain passes, works in wire, paintings by Bendik Riis,
books, posters, chairs, African masks, the collar of a dress in a Stoltenberg
painting, a picture of a moose in the sunset or Axel Petersson Döderhultarn’s
(1868–1925) wood sculptures that depict the lives and deaths of common
people in Småland, Sweden, around the turn of the century.
After arranging informal exhibitions, tours, lecture series, seminars and
readings for individuals and small groups for years, these events became
official. Guttormsgaard arranged a series of 53 exhibitions from 2006 to
2009. That is when it was supposed to end, or at least take a break, but no
one would hear of it – the number of exhibitions has now reached 72, and it
appears that the new exhibitions generate additional objects. One example
is the works made by prisoners of the slave work camps that the Germans
set up in Norway to detain partisans from Yugoslavia and prisoners of war
from the Red Army during WWII. Guttormsgaard already had a number of
wooden artefacts, birds with spread wings and a crocodile with a terrifying
row of teeth, yet when Exhibition No. 64 entitled Works by Russian Prisoners,
opened in February 2012, 537 objects were displayed. This was the largest
show of works by prisoners in Norway and a major national event. The last
prisoner from these camps who still lives in Norway was present.
And by all means, you mustn’t believe it is an unconventional museum Guttormsgaard has built at Blaker, it is an anti-museum. What he is interested
Guttorm Guttormsgaard. Photo: © Ivan Brodey
30
A selection of objects from Guttorm Guttormsgaard’s archive
31
INTO THE CRUCIBLE
– THE EARLY WEIDEMANN
In autumn 2015 the Stenersen Museum
will present an exhibition of Jakob
Weidemann’s work. The exhibition will
consist of the Stenersen Collection’s
own works, supplemented by loans from
private and public collections.
There are two reasons why we wish to mount a major exhibition of Jakob Weidemann’s (1923–2001)
works. First of all, we wish to devote extra attention to Weidemann’s many works in Rolf E. Stenersen’s
Collection from the period 1942–1961, by many considered to be his most daring, experimental and
complex. And secondly it is reasonable to claim that, aside from Stenersen’s patronage, Weidemann
was one of the artists whom Stenersen wished to present on a larger scale, as he did with Ludvig
Karsten, Olav Strømme and Rolf Nesch, for example.
Weidemann is considered one of Norway’s leading visual artists of the twentieth century. He received
his education in part at the State Academy of Fine Arts in Oslo and in part in Stockholm during WWII,
where he fled after having participated in illegal resistance work in Norway. He lost his vision in one
eye in an accident involving explosives while serving in the Norwegian armed forces in Sweden. From
the time of his debut on the art scene in Bergen in 1942 until he lay down his brushes in 2001, he
remained a towering figure in the Norwegian art world.
Weidemann’s strong leaning towards experimentation came into full bloom during the late war years.
He points to his contact with Sven “X-et” Erixson at the academy in Stockholm as a major influence.
By allowing them a freer approach to painting, Erixson was an anti-academic inspiration for many
young artists. His imaginative studies of reality, characterised by a joyful and spontaneous painterly
style and an exceptional sense of colour, were of great significance for Weidemann. The influences
that Weidemann benefited from were many, and it appears that his exploration with form led him to
experiment with many styles. It did not seem to cause him any consternation to alternate between a
figurative and a more abstract idiom: the tension this gave rise to rather became a basis for experimentation with form.
It was in Sweden that Weidemann came in contact with Rolf E. Stenersen, who recognised his great
talent and acquired a number of pictures from him: these are major works both in Weidemann’s
early production and in what today comprises Rolf E. Stenersen’s bequest to the City of Oslo. During
the years immediately following the war, Weidemann mounted exhibitions that garnered enthusiasm
from many quarters, and generated positive reviews. He was considered one of the brightest young
talents here in Norway. Typical examples of his works were Partisan (1946), and The Insane (1944);
the first divided into prisms with the figurative elements barely visible, and the latter an imaginative
and impulsive expressive-surrealistic work, yet with a tone denoting nature lyricism. This tone would
continue throughout Weidemann’s production like a red thread.
The other aspect of Weidemann’s production during this period is clearly tied to a cubist register, in a
geometrical abstract idiom. The level of abstraction in this field of art has its most extreme expression
in what can be called concrete art, which did not make any great impasse in Norway. Black and Yellow
Composition is an example of this style in the Stenersen Collection.
Characteristic of Weidemann’s work are abstract, expressionist paintings with nature as the source
of inspiration. After considerable experimentation with different painting styles during the 1940s and
50s he finally settled for a form that can be called expressive lyrical abstraction with nature as the
source of inspiration and point of departure. A number of his later works are called Impressions from
Nature. Other well-known titles are Interior, The Road to Jerusalem, The Great Bird Alights, The Mist
in Gethsemane and Homage to El Greco.
Period: 18 September–13 December
Curator: Hans Ludvig Arentz
Jakob Weidemann executed monumental works in Steinkjer Church (1965) and in the great hall at
Maihaugen in Lillehammer (1967).
Jakob Weidemann: Partisan, 1946.
Rolf E. Stenersen’s Collection, Munch
Museum.
© Jakob Weidemann/BONO 2014
32
FROM THE STENERSEN COLLECTION:
NORWEGIAN MODERNISM AND
AVANT-GARDE, 1900–1950
In this exhibition we encounter
artists and art movements that
had great historical significance for
the development of Modernism in
Norwegian visual art. Many of them
also represent avant-garde trends
in the otherwise rather conventional
art milieu in Norway in the interwar
period.
In 1936 the art collector, author and entrepreneur Rolf E. Stenersen bequeathed a large part of his considerable art collection to the Municipality of Aker (now Oslo), and today the bequest forms part of the Munch
Museum’s collections. Works by Edvard Munch form a central part of Stenersen’s generous gift, with numerous
paintings, drawings and graphic works. The main emphasis is otherwise on Norwegian art from the interwar
period, with artists such as Reidar Aulie, Bjarne Engebret, Erling Enger, Kai Fjell, Erik Harry Johannessen,
Ludvig Karsten, Henrik Lund, Rolf Nesch, Søren Onsager, Aage Storstein, Olav Strømme and Sigurd Winge.
Stenersen was particularly interested in the younger, less conventional contemporary art, which was expressed in an early interest in the 1930s modernists, and later in the young Jakob Weidemann. In the Stenersen
collection one can find a number of central works in the history of Norwegian Modernism and the avantgarde. This is the history of the artists who conducted their work at the perimeter of the established art scene
during their time, yet who nevertheless remained standing as major players in the annals of Norwegian art.
Munch’s Expressive Legacy
Beginning with Edvard Munch, one can trace a lineage of expressive art through 20th century Norwegian
visual art – from Ludvig Karsten and Torstein Torsteinson, via Rudolph Thygesen, Per Krohg and Henrik
Sørensen, and further via Rolf Nesch, Olav Strømme, Erling Enger, Bjarne Engebret and Kai Fjell, up to
Jakob Weidemann and Else Hagen. Munch greatly influenced Karsten’s art, and in many of his works one
can find references to Munch when it comes to form and motif. Karsten studied under Henri Matisse in
Paris for a short period. Together with Krohg, Sørensen and Axel Revold, Thygesen was among the Norwegian painters who sought out Matisse around 1908. Aside from Thygesen and Krohg, the Norwegian
Matisse students abandoned an experimental mode of expression after WWI, in favour of a more dogmatic
and constructive style. With few exceptions, such as Bernt Clüver, it wasn’t until the 30s that expressive
art would gain new voices in the Norwegian art world. The German expressionist Rolf Nesch moved to
Norway in 1933 and became a significant influence for a handful of Norwegian artists. Sigurd Winge,
Erling Enger, Bjarne Engebret, Gert Jynge and Olav Strømme all turned their attention to an expressive
idiom, and have attained a position today among some of the most important artists of the interwar period.
Surrealism
In keeping with the movement’s development elsewhere in the world, Surrealism became an important
element in Norwegian art during the 20s as well, even though the criticism here was predominantly negative.
The style was introduced as an artistic and ideological movement in Norway during the first half of the 30s.
The first impulses came from Denmark via the artist Vilhelm Bjerke-Petersen, and according to him it was
a revolutionary movement that “dissolves what exists in order to create new realities and new forms of life”.
A group of young Norwegian artists became famous around the middle of the 1930s as surrealists. Aside
from Karen Holtsmark and Bjarne Riise, Kai Fjell and Erik Harry Johannessen were self-defined surrealists.
Olav Strømme and Arne Ekeland also made their mark with works that contributed to the heated debate
surrounding Surrealism.
Experimental Art
Period: 18 September–13 December
Curator: Lars Toft-Eriksen
The interwar period in Norwegian art was marked by the ideological issues of the time and was closely
tied to the great tasks of nation building, through art as well. With instructors such as Axel Revold at the
National Academy of Art, a school was founded to promote a dogmatic, categorical and post-cubist style
in Norwegian art. During the 1920s, the Norwegian art world had become rather provincial, with little
room for the avant-garde trends of the period. Exceptions did exist, however, and in the course of the 30s
a number of artists developed a more experimental artistic style. Among them were Strømme, Engebret,
Enger and Winge. Together they organised an exhibition at Kunstnernes Hus in 1935. Stylistically, their
idioms varied from Expressionism to Symbolism and Surrealism, yet what they all had in common was an
open attitude to modern art and a desire for radical experimentation with technique, materials and form.
Bjarne Engebret: Composition in Red, 1935 (detail).
Rolf E. Stenersen’s Collection, Munch Museum. © Bjarne Engebret/BONO 2014
34
A NEW AWARD
IN EDVARD MUNCH’S NAME
I 2015 the Munch Museum will present The Edvard Munch Art Award for the
first time. The prize will go to a young artist while simultaneously acknowledging Edvard Munch’s significant position in art history.
By establishing the The Edvard Munch Art Award the Munch Museum
wishes to acknowledge Edvard Munch’s historical significance and
enduring relevance for artists and for culture in general. In keeping
with his international position in art history and his influence on later
generations of artists, the award will contribute in promoting the development of unique talents in the visual arts. The award shall, by virtue of
Edvard Munch’s name, also contribute to distinguishing Norway as an
active player in the international contemporary art arena.
Edvard Munch made a name for himself at a young age, and had his
breakthrough outside Norway at the early age of 29. With works like
The Scream, Vampire and Madonna Munch gained impasse into the
international art discourse of the 1890s. Through his radical experimentation with the idioms and styles of painting – as well as printmaking
– he contributed to laying the foundation for expressive art during the
20th century. Munch had great significance for the development of
German Expressionism, but one can also find traces of his influence
in movements such as Surrealism during the 1920s and 30s, and his
artistry has been significant for a number of later prominent artists on
the international art scene, such as Asger Jorn, Per Kirkeby, Tracey
Emin, Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns and Marina Abramovic.
The prize, which will be awarded every other year, consists of NOK
500 000. It also includes an exhibition at the Munch Museum and a
guest residency in Oslo.
The Edvard Munch Art Award will be presented for the first time on
Edvard Munch’s birthday, 12 December 2015. The award has been
realised in a collaboration with the Norwegian oil company Statoil and
Stiftelsen Edvard Munchs Atelier, and is funded by the Norwegian
Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Portrait photo of Edvard Munch, 1926. Photo: Krameyer, Wiesbaden. Munch Museum archives
36
Chamber Concerts at the Munch Museum
14 FEBRUARY
5 SEPTEMBER
Schnittke – Variations for String Quartet
Webern – Langsamer Satz
Beethoven – String Quartet No. 8 in E minor Op. 59 No. 2
Schubert – Piano Trio in B flat major Op. 99
Schubert – Piano Trio in E flat major Op. 148 “Nocturne”
MUSICIANS: Hans Morten Stensland - violin,
Tove Resell - violin, Eirik Sørensen - viola,
Hans Josef Groh - cello
7 MARCH
Dvorak – String Quartet in G major Op. 77
Schubert – Piano Quintet in A major Op. 114 “The Trout”
MUSICIANS: Gonzalo Moreno – piano,
Elise Båtnes – violin, Pauls Ezergailis – violin,
Henninge Landaas – viola, Anne Britt Årdal – cello,
Kenneth Ryland – contrabass
11 APRIL
Blomenkamp – Suite for Solo Cello
Haydn – String Quartet in B flat major Op. 76 “Sunrise”
Mendelssohn-Bartholdy – String Quartet No. 3 in D major
Op. 44 No. 1
MUSICIANS: Daniel Dalnoki – violin, Eileen Siegel – violin,
Marie-Teresa Pfiz – viola, Katharina Hager-Saltnes – cello
9 MAY
Hellstenius – Five Imprints of Time
Takemitsu – Rain Tree
Berg – Rish, Solo for marimba
Viken – “Shadows” for timpani and gongs
Schnittke – Quartet for percussion
Nørgård – From “I Ching”
MUSICIANS: Percussion Group
MUSICIANS: Alexander Taylor – piano, Berit Sem – violin,
Kristine Martens – cello
3 OCTOBER
Beethoven – Septet in E flat major Op. 20
MUSICIANS: Ingeborg Fimreite – violin,
Povilas Syrrist-Gelgota – viola, Johannes Martens – cello,
Kjetil Sandum – contrabass, Andjei Maevski – clarinet,
Jan Olav Martinsen – trumpet, Per Hannisdal – bassoon
7 NOVEMBER
Britten – String Quartet No. 2 in C major Op. 36
Fauré – String Quartet in E minor Op. 121
MUSICIANS: Alison Rayner – violin,
Leah Tagami Meredith – violin, Arthur Bedouelle – viola,
Kari Ravnan – cello
5 DECEMBER
“English Tidbits”
Bridge – 3 Idyls for String Quartet
Britten – 3 Divertimenti for String Quartet
Vaughan-Williams – Piano Quintet in C minor
MUSICIANS: Alyson Read – violin, Marit Egenes – violin,
Birgitta Halbakken – viola, Cecilia Götestam – cello,
Steinar Børmer – contrabass, Gonzalo Moreno – piano
The programme may be subject to change.
Photo: Stian Andersen
Welcome
MUN CH IN N O RWAY
EDVARD MUNCH’S STUDIO AT EKELY
number of landscapes of the apple orchard and the old elm forest, and paintings of winter nights and the red barn are among Munch’s most famous works
from here. He painted pictures of horses ploughing and farmers at work, he
kept a horse that served as a model, and his dogs have been preserved for
posterity in many pictures. In the self-portraits from Ekely Munch scrutinises
his emotional states and exposes himself ruthlessly to the viewer. In the outdoor
studios he worked on The Frieze of Life in a monumental format, alongside other
large projects. He sustained an eye injury in 1930, which became a turning
point in his life at Ekely. The desire to work in peace became more and more
compelling and led to self-imposed isolation.
In 1940 Munch bequeathed all of his remaining works to the City of Oslo.
The collection consisted of approximately 1 100 paintings, 3 000 drawings,
18 000 graphic works and six sculptures, sketchbooks, printing plates and
lithographic stones. His large collection of letters and writings, photographs
and books were included in the gift. After Munch’s death the City of Oslo
decided to purchase the entire property of Ekely from his estate. The City
Council adopted a resolution stating that the property should be used for
the benefit of visual artists and be developed by the cooperative building
association OBOS, and occupancy of the 44 artist residences with studios
designed by architects Jens and Wenche Selmer commenced in 1951.
The villa where Munch lived was torn down in 1960. The winter studio, which
was expanded to its present state in 1929, was designed by Munch’s friend, the
architect Henrik Bull, and is today the only building that remains after Munch
at Ekely. Renovation of the studio began in 2013, and in 2015 the outdoor
studio, which adjoins the building, will also be open to the public in its original
state. The Norwegian Directorate of Cultural Heritage listed the winter studio
and its garden as a historical heritage site in 1997, along with the artist colony,
which was listed as an example of housing construction after WWII and an
important example of the development of the welfare state.
Edvard Munch in his winter studio at Ekely, photographed on the occasion of his 75th birthday
in 1938. Photo: Ragnvald Væring. © O. Væring Eftf.
Edvard Munch’s studio at Ekely is open to the public during
the summer under the supervision of the Munch Museum. The
building is an experience in itself, while an exhibition based on
documentary material and an audio-visual presentation chronicles
Munch’s life and work at Ekely.
Munch in Oslo
For more detailed information about Edvard Munch’s life in Oslo we
recommend Frank Høifødt’s book Munch in Oslo (2002).
In 1916 Edvard Munch purchased the property that would become his
home until 1944. Ekely was a former nursery and Munch also grew fruit
and vegetables here. The Aula decorations had whetted his appetite and
additional monumental projects became an important part of Munch’s artistic
career for the remainder of his life. A number of studios gradually sprouted up
around the 11-acre property: at Ekely he had finally gained adequate space for
his work. The first solid winter studio – designed by the Oslo City Hall architect
Arnstein Arneberg – was built in 1919–20, and several additional summer and
open-air studios were erected as the need arose. Many large pictures were
left outdoors during the summer as well as winter, protected only by small
overhangs. Munch liked having his pictures continually on display, both for
inspiration and to continue working on them. The essence of what governed
life at Ekely was his all-consuming work, and he invested most of his finances
in building projects to facilitate this.
Edvard Munch with his dogs in the garden at Ekely, 1932–33.
Photo: Inger Munch. Munch Museum archives
Period: June–September
Place: Edvard Munch’s Winter Studio at Ekely, Jarlsborgveien 14
Curator: Petra Pettersen
Website: For opening hours and directions as well as a presentation
of over 400 Munch paintings from Ekely, see: munchs-ekely.no
The favourable working conditions are reflected in a vast, colourful production
inspired by his close surroundings. The changing seasons are depicted in a
Edvard Munch: Self-portrait. Between the Clock and the Bed, 1940–42
38
MUN CH I N O R G E
39
MUN CH IN N O RWAY
MUNCH
COMMUNITIES
IN NORWAY
Løten
6
In the course of his long life Edvard Munch
(1863–1944) lived and worked many places – in
Norway as well as abroad. In connection with
the 150th anniversary of Munch’s birth in 2013
a network was established for the communities
in Norway that have a connection to the artist.
The Munch communities are primarily places
where Munch has lived and worked, but may
also have another connection to Edvard Munch’s
life and art. As of today Fredrikstad, Horten
(Åsgårdstrand), Hvitsten, Kragerø, Løten, Moss,
Oslo and Vågå are included in the network.
On the following pages we give a brief
presentation of the Munch communities
and their public programmes.
Vågå
7
Oslo
Vestby
(Hvitsten)
3
1 4
5
2
Fredrikstad
Moss
Horten (Åsgårdstrand)
Bergen
Kragerø
Illustration: Melkeveien Designkontor as
1
Åsgårdstrand
History
Beginning in the mid-1880s, Edvard Munch spent many summers in this little
coastal town by the Oslo Fjord. It was here Munch experienced a turbulent
love affair with a married woman who was three years older than him. The
relationship resulted in a number of lyrical texts, which in the beginning of
the 1890s became the point of departure for a number of paintings based on
love motifs. It is therefore no coincidence that Åsgårdstrand, with its scenic
coastal landscapes and undulating shoreline, forms the background of many
of these paintings: Two Human Beings. The Lonely Ones, Melancholy, The
Voice, Separation and Jealousy. These form part of The Frieze of Life, Munch’s
cycle of paintings about love, angst, illness and death.
Åsgårdstrand were more sporadic, but the house remained in Munch’s
ownership until his death in 1944. The artist’s original furniture has been
preserved, and the cottage was opened as a museum as early as in 1947.
On the 150th anniversary of Munch’s birth, in 2013, his cottage, along with
the studio and garden, was listed as a cultural heritage site by the Norwegian
Directorate for Cultural Heritage.
Visitors
From May to September the public may visit Edvard Munch’s cottage and
form an impression of how the artist lived. Group tours can also be reserved
outside opening hours. Walks in Munch’s landscapes are also offered, with
separate walks for children with accompanying workshops. For more information: munchshus.no
The Girls on the Bridge is another painting that is indisputably among Munch’s
most famous motifs from Åsgårdstrand, and many of his beautiful impressionist landscapes, painted in an elegant art-nouveau style typical of Munch
around the turn of the century, stem from here.
Munch Tours at Thon Hotels Åsgårdstrand
Beginning in summer 2015 Thon Hotels Åsgårdstrand will open a new café
on the pier in Åsgårdstrand. The hotel will offer guided walks around town
that include a visit to Edvard Munch’s house. Thon Hotels Åsgårdstrand also
offers special “Munch Outings” from Oslo with overnight accommodation at
the hotel. For more information: thonhotels/asgardstrand.no
Munch’s presence in
Åsgårdstrand was most
strongly felt during the
period 1889–1905. During
the first years he rented
rooms at different addresses, before he purchased
a little fisherman’s cottage
for 900 Kroner in 1898.
After 1905 his visits to
Literature
Måneskinn i Åsgårdstrand (2013) is written by Hans-Martin Frydenberg
Flaatten. The book presents the motifs of Munch’s spiritual landscapes that
originated in the village Åsgårdstrand by the Oslo Fjord.
Edvard Munch: Four Girls in Åsgårdstrand, 1913
40
MUN CH IN N O RWAY
2
Kragerø
3
History
Ramme in Hvitsten
History
In May 1909, after having
spent many years abroad,
Edvard Munch settled in
the villa Skrubben in Kragerø. By this time he was an
internationally recognised
artist and had received the
Royal Order of St. Olav in
1908. Many years of prolific
Edvard Munch painting in a street in Kragerø, 1910.
Photo: A. F. Johansen. Munch Museum archives
production and extensive
exhibiting, combined with excessive alcohol consumption, had undermined
his health and resulted in an eight-month stay at Dr. Daniel Jacobson’s
clinic in Copenhagen.
In November 1910 Munch purchased the property Nedre Ramme
in Hvitsten on the east coast of the
Oslo Fjord. Here he was able to continue working on drafts for the decorations for the University of Oslo’s Aula.
Several of them were inspired by the
beautiful landscape surrounding the
property, and the background in the
first drafts for The Researchers (Alma
Mater) depicts the beach at the foot
of the property.
View of Edvard Munch’s property Nedre
Ramme in Hvitsten ca. 1910. Munch’s dog
Boy can be seen in the picture. The shoreline
below formed the background for the painting
The Researchers / Alma Mater.
Photo: Edvard Munch. © Munch Museum
Eleven Aula drafts in a smaller format
were also created at Nedre Ramme.
The series was exhibited in the autumn
exhibition in Berlin in 1913, and was received with great acclaim by the German press. When the pictures were later shown in Frankfurt, the Norwegian
newspapers covered the enthusiastic reception by the Germans, describing
it as “Munch’s conquest of Germany”.
Munch’s renewed encounter with Norwegian nature resulted in a new sense
of harmony and classical composition, and manifested itself in countless
landscapes executed with a bold and energetic brushstroke in a new,
monumental style. Many of the paintings depict the beautiful coastal town
covered in snow, and the particular light of winter had obviously interested
the artist. The townspeople and the landscape became an important
subject matter for motifs.
Munch owned Nedre Ramme until his death in 1944. Aside from the
magnificent Aula drafts, many smaller paintings were created in Hvitsten
through the years. The local nature, the people and their daily lives were
depicted in countless pictures, and it was here that Munch developed a
close relationship to his first steady model.
Munch made use of the impressive natural surroundings in the Aula decorations as well. The two most famous pictures, which today adorn the University
Aula in Oslo, are The Sun and History. In order to create enough space to
execute the large decorations Munch had to resort to untraditional methods,
and among other things he erected his first outdoor studio at Skrubben.
The paintings from Hvitsten are marked by the monumental style that Munch
had developed in Kragerø, with a characteristic use of colour distinguished
by a cooler palette. A number of bathing scenes and beautiful landscapes,
such as The Wave, are his most famous works from Hvitsten.
Visitors
Today there are trails that follow in Edvard Munch’s footsteps, to the places
where the artist lived and painted in the course of his stay in the coastal
town. To make reservations for guided tours contact the City of Kragerø
Cultural Sector: post@kragero.kommune.no
Literature
Soloppgang i Kragerø – Historien om Edvard Munchs liv på Skrubben
1909–1915 (2013) is written by Hans-Martin Frydenberg Flaatten and
presents the decisive years in Kragerø, the little coastal town by the Oslo
Fjord where Edvard Munch experienced one of his most creative periods,
and where the major works History and The Sun were created.
The book Høysommer i Hvitsten by Hans-Martin Frydenberg Flaatten will
be launched in summer 2015. The book explores the conditions of Edvard
Munch’s life during the period he lived and worked in Hvitsten. With the
help of contemporary witnesses we are given a more intimate picture of
Munch the man, and become acquainted with details of his daily life at
Nedre Ramme. The book is published by the Municipality of Vestby’s
Cultural Services.
Edvard Munch: The Sun, 1911. University of Oslo, The Aula.
Edvard Munch: Bathing Men, 1918
Literature
41
MUN CH IN N O RWAY
4
Moss
5
Fredrikstad
History
History
Edvard Munch lived at Grimsrød farm on Jeløy near Moss from March 1913
to September 1916. The spacious main building was primarily used as a
studio and for storing paintings and prints. Munch had a studio erected
in wood with a glass roof in the large garden where he worked on the
monumental decorations for the University of Oslo’s Aula. He also painted
views from the garden and the landscape of Søndre Jeløy, his dogs and
the workers from the glass factory returning home at the end of the working day. The young domestic Ingeborg Kaurin was also a very important
model for the artist. She was later nicknamed “The Girl from Moss”. When
Munch was not working he would sometimes take a stroll to visit his old
friend Consul Christen Sandberg, or he went to the cinema in Moss with
his dog, Boy. Jeløy was strategically located in relation to Munch’s other
properties and studios in Hvitsten, Åsgårdstrand and Kragerø, and he
travelled frequently back and forth between them, with his domestic help,
his horse and his dogs.
The two most important women in Edvard Munch’s life were born in
Fredrikstad: his mother Laura Cathrine and her sister Karen Bjølstad, also
known as “Aunt Karen”. Laura Cathrine married the physician Christian
Munch in 1861. When Edvard was five years old, in 1868, his mother died
of tuberculosis, only 31 years old. Aunt Karen had moved into their home to
help out when her sister became ill; now she took over responsibility for the
entire family – five children and an impractical brother-in-law. She supported
Edvard through thick and thin when he set off on the unpredictable path
of an artist, and she made sure that the Munch children kept in touch with
their mother’s family, during summer visits to Fredrikstad and visits to their
aunts and uncles in Kristiania. Munch was preoccupied with the legacy
from his maternal family. It was from them he inherited his “weak lungs”,
he felt, yet at the same time he credited his old grandfather Bjølstad, a
skipper and a merchant, for his stubbornness and perseverance. When
his grandfather lay on his deathbed in 1888, Munch went to Fredrikstad
and painted him.
Visitors
Visitors
In Moss it is possible to walk in Edvard Munch’s footsteps by following a
trail with plaques posted along the way. The plaques provide information
about the art that Munch created during the period he lived in the town,
and several of them are placed at locations where one can recognise
the motifs of some of his paintings. VisitMoss arranges guided walks in
Munch’s footsteps every summer. For information about the trail and the
walks: VisitMoss.no
In Fredrikstad you may visit six sites that Edvard Munch had a special
connection to. The trail begins in Isegran, continues past Blomstertorget to
Storgata 26, before you arrive at Glemmen Church, where Munch’s parents
were married. The next stop is Gamle Glemmen Church, with the family plot
where his mother’s ancestors are buried, before the trail ends at the piers in
Hankø. Each of the sites is equipped with a plaque that provides additional
information about the history of the place. For guided tours contact: Visit Fredrikstad & Hvaler, Telephone 69 30 46 00 or info@visitfredrikstadhvaler.com.
For more information regarding Munch in Fredrikstad: munchfredrikstad.no
Literature
The Book Edvard Munch i Moss, Kunst, krig og kapital på Jeløy 1913–1916
(2014) is written by Hans-Martin Frydenberg Flaatten. The book sheds light
on a central, yet until now little known period in Munch’s art and work, and
deals with a relatively happy period in his life. Munch was established as a
successful artist by then, both in Norway and abroad. His life in Moss was
quite active, with frequent visits from foreign guests; art collectors, artists
and museum representatives.
Literature
The biography Tante Karen – Kvinnen bak Edvard Munch is written by Torill
Stokkan and tells the story of the woman who discovered early what the
rest of the world would eventually come to know.
Portrait photograph of Karen Bjølstad (1839–1931), who was Laura Cathrine Munch’s younger
sister. She moved to Løten to help her sister with the children, and later moved with the family
to the capital. Unknown photographer. Munch Museum archives
Edvard Munch: Standing Woman with Arms Folded (The Girl from Moss at Grimsrød), 1913–15
42
MUN CH IN N O RWAY
6
Løten
7
Vågå
History
History
Edvard Munch was born on Engelaug farm at Ådalsbruk in Løten, 140
kilometres north of Oslo. Christian Munch had been working there as an
army doctor when he met Laura Cathrine Bjølstad, who was in the employ
of a medical colleague of his in Elverum. They were married in 1861 and
had two children while living in Løten: Sophie and Edvard. When Edvard
was born, on 12 December 1863, he appeared frail and was baptised in
haste on the farm; the christening was confirmed in Løten Church four
months later. The family moved to the capital before Edvard was a year
old, but kept in touch with the people at Engelaug. Edvard visited Løten
as a child and adolescent, and had friends there. The correspondence
between the Munch family and their friends at Engelaug – and Edvard’s
own letters from Løten – reveals a brighter side of his childhood, which is
frequently depicted as predominantly gloomy. Contact with nature and life
in the village became part of the young artist’s baggage.
Edvard Munch’s paternal ancestors came from Vågå. For 80 years, from
1745 to 1825, the Storm-Munch family had its seat at the vicarage. Johan
Storm (Edvard Munch’s great great grandfather, Ole Bull’s great grandfather
and Edvard Storm’s father) was vicar of Vågå for 31 years. Christine Munch
(the artist’s great grandmother who was married to Peder Munch) was born
and grew up in Vågå, where she was also a vicar’s wife for ten years. This
implies that the vicarage in Vågå has a very special history. Edvard Storm,
Ole Bull and Edvard Munch all have their roots in the vicarage in Vågå.
Edvard Munch felt a strong connection to Vågå and he visited the rural
community on several occasions. Munch claimed that he gained inspiration for his Aula paintings from Vågå Church. In the 17th century Henning
Munch painted the chancel in the beautiful medieval church, and these
paintings made a lasting impression on the artist. Edvard Munch believed
that he was related to Henning Munch, but this was not the case.
Visitors
Visitors
Engelaug Østre farm exists to this day but is not open to the public. A
lookout point has been constructed for visitors who wish to view the farm
and take photos of the scenic agricultural landscape.
During the Munch Jubilee in 2013 a bust of Edvard Munch was unveiled
in the historic vicarage garden in Vågå. This bust was made when Munch
was 23 years old, and is the only one made of the artist during his lifetime.
The sculptor was his fellow student and friend Jo Visdal from Vågå.
The Munch Centre is part of the Klevfos Industrial Museum and is located in
close proximity to Munch’s birthplace, Engelaug. The Centre, which opened
in 2012, focuses on the Munch family’s relationship to Løten, Edvard Munch
as a child and adolescent, his experiences in Løten and his development
as an artist. Make sure to visit the Munch Trail as well, with its five plaques
posted at locations that are associated with the Munch family in Løten. The
trail begins at the Munch Centre and is accessible all year around.
For more information: klevfos.no and loten.kommune.no/munch
Literature
Munchs første strek – barne- og ungdomsår på “Engelhaug” (2012) is the
first book that treats Edvard Munch’s childhood drawings. The author, Åse
Krogsrud, has done a painstaking job, and new material has come to light
via excerpts from correspondence between the family members.
Vågå Vicarage with Jo Visdal’s bust of Edvard Munch in the foreground, 2014. Photo: Roar
Strand
Munch’s great grandmother Christine was an active and very knowledgeable
woman. One aspect of her legacy that we benefit greatly from today was
her interest and knowledge of botany and medicinal herbs.
The municipality of Vågå will continue to focus on Edvard Munch in 2015.
We will open a trail, “In Munch’s Footsteps”, featuring a cultural historical
walk connecting the various places that are associated with Munch. The
vicarage is open to the public all year round; during the summer months
the public can visit the magnificent vicarage garden when it is in bloom.
Additional events will be organised throughout the year. For updated
information: vaga.kommune.no
Laura Cathrine Munch with her five children, 1868. Standing to the left of her mother is
Sophie, and on her right is Edvard. Peter Andreas sits in front on the left, Laura in front on the
right, and Inger Marie is on her lap. Photo: J. Lindegaard. Munch Museum archives
43
Proud sponsor since 1991
MUN CH IN N O RWAY
EDVARD MUNCH – NATURE AND EMOTION
Kunsthuset Kabuso in Hardanger will present an exhibition of graphic
works by Edvard Munch in summer 2015. In the exhibition we will be
presented with various graphic techniques used in Munch’s production,
and in addition a number of the prints are hand-coloured. All of the
works in the exhibition are on loan from the Munch Museum.
the male and female figures. The silhouettes of a light-coloured woman and
a dark man are gazing out across the ocean. Nature is exploited to the fullest
as an emotive backdrop and the symbolic interaction between the figures
and the landscape is striking.
The exhibition presents approximately 30 different prints by Munch. Some
of the works are pure depictions of nature, while a large part of the exhibition
underscores how
tension arises in an
encounter between
the motif and the
surrounding landscape.
TEXT: HEIDI ANN JAEGER
The theme of the exhibition is nature and emotions. Munch’s work is to a
large extent characterised by melancholic moods and intense feelings, often
associated with unrequited love and jealousy. In the exhibition we wish to focus
on how Munch utilises nature to substantiate the emotions that are depicted.
In Munch’s paintings as well as his lithographic works, the details around
the main motif are practically erased. The surroundings are subordinate to
the motif, though they are not without significance. Nature often forms the
stage setting of a motif, which in turn colours the emotional register and
conveys the mood for Munch’s message.
Edvard Munch:
Two Human Beings.
The Lonely Ones, 1899
If we look at the woodcut Towards the Forest (1897), for example, we see a
man and a woman standing in a tight embrace with their backs towards us,
staring at a forest in the background. The forest appears as a dark mass,
in overpowering contrast to the passion expressed by the two lovers. In
the lithograph Two Human Beings. The Lonely Ones (1899) the naked and
abstract stone formations on the beach underscore the distance between
Place: Kunsthuset Kabuso, Øystese
Period: 30 May–30 August
Curator: Heidi Ann Jaeger
For more information: kabuso.no
ART DURING THE OCCUPATION 1940–45
In summer 2015 Bomuldsfabriken Kunsthall in Arendal will present an exhibition that focuses on the conditions surrounding art
during WWII. A number of works from the Stenersen Collection in
the Munch Museum are included in the exhibition.
Reidar Aulie and Sigurd Winge. While Jakob Weidemann fled to Sweden
and opened his first solo exhibition in Stockholm, Reidar Aulie and Hans
Ryggen were involved in illegal activities in Norway and were imprisoned.
Both of them have painted with prison life as the backdrop.
In Norwegian society there is a widespread belief that the art scene was
laid waste during WWII and that the period should be seen as a black hole,
one that did not produce art of any
significance. It is a well-known fact
that it was difficult to create art during
the war years, due to lack of materials
but also because of censorship and
limited exhibiting opportunities. Yet
this does not mean that art was not
created at all, or that the art that was
created did not have qualities that
made them interesting as documentation of trying times.
A majority of the works in the exhibition treat war-related themes. The art
scene in Norway had developed in a society where democracy and freedom
of speech were taken for granted. How did the artists relate to dictatorship? Attempts at creating a Nazi-friendly art scene is another theme of the
exhibition, and art created by artists who sympathised with the Norwegian
fascist party Nasjonal Samling, such as Harald Damsleth and Wilhelm
Rasmussen, will also be shown.
Rolf Nesch: The Milky Way (1942).
Rolf E. Stenersen’s Collection, Munch Museum.
© Rolf Nesch/BONO 2014
Rolf E. Stenersen’s Collection, which today is included in the Munch Museum,
encompasses a number of works that are relevant in this context, and the
museum will be lending works by Reidar Aulie, Arne Ekeland, Else Hagen,
Rolf Nesch and Victor Sparre.
Place: Bomuldsfabriken Kunsthall, Arendal
Period: 20 June–30 August
Curators: Kathrine Lund and Harald Solberg
For more information: bomuldsfabriken.no
The exhibition will show works by the
German artists in exile Rolf Nesch,
Bruno Krauskopf and Kurt Schwitters, as well as “resistance art” by
45
© Marina Abramović / Ekebergparken
EKEBERGPARKEN AND THE SCREAM
© Edvard Munch: Scream / The National Museum / Munch-Ellingsen gruppen / BONO 2014
Edvard Munch: 1893
Marina Abramović: 2013
www.ekebergparken.com
I was walking along a road with two friends – the sun was setting –
I seemed to sense a breath of melancholy – suddenly the sky turned
blood-red – I paused and leaned against the fence, feeling utterly
exhausted – and looked out over the clouds like blood and swords,
the blueish-black fjord and the city – My friends walked on – I stood
there quivering with fear – and I felt a great, endless scream passing
through nature. - EDVARD MUNCH
© Sigurd Fandango / Ekebergparken
“A new sculpture park filled with works by some of the
biggest names in contemporary art has just opened in
Oslo. Marina Abramović, James Turrell, Jenny Holzer
and Louise Bourgeois are just a few of the artists whose
pieces are now scattered through Ekeberg park, which
overlooks the city.” -THE GUARDIAN
“Der letzte Schrei
in Oslo.”
-GERMAN WINGS
© Ivar Kvaal / Ekebergparken
WELCOME TO
THE MUSEUM SHOP
We have a varied and inspiring selection of products,
among them reproductions of famous Munch motifs,
espresso cups, colouring crayons and drawing materials
produced especially for the Munch Museum.
In our shop you will find a broad selection of books
and exhibition catalogues on Edvard Munch.
Arvid, Inspired by Munch and Warhol © Arvid Andreassen
Members of the Munch Museum’s club are given
a 20% discount.
The shop follows the museum’s opening hours and is
accessible without an entrance ticket to the exhibition.
shop@munchmuseet.no /
+ 47 23 49 35 00 /
munchmuseet.no
SURROUND YOUR
SENSES
www.samsung.no/curved
48
INTERNATIONAL
EXHIBITIONS
AND COLLABORATIONS
One of the Munch Museum’s important missions is to promote increased knowledge
about and interest in Edvard Munch internationally, and to make his art visible and
available both physically and digitally around the world.
15 000 pages of Edvard Munch’s writings (letters, letter drafts and literary texts) have been
published on the website eMunch.no, both as facsimiles and transcribed texts – a large number
of the texts have also been translated into English. We are now in the process of digitising the
correspondence addressed to Munch, with funding contributions from Arts Council Norway
and the Fritt Ord Foundation. At the same time we are also digitising the Munch Museum’s
entire collection of artworks, so that this material too can be published on the Internet. The
catalogues raisonnés of paintings and graphic works will also become available online, and
the museum is currently preparing a catalogue of the thousands of works on paper, in part
thanks to generous funding from the Bergesen Foundation.
We experience enormous interest in Edvard Munch in the international museum world, and the
Munch Museum’s art historians collaborate each year on exhibition projects with prestigious
museums abroad. Our international exhibition strategy is the most important instrument for
continuing to consolidate an interest in Munch’s art, and the museum’s conservation department contributes to this endeavour.
Edvard Munch: In the Man’s Brain, 1897
49
IN TERN ATIO N A L E X HIBI T I O N S
EDVARD MUNCH
IN SPAIN
The Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza in
Madrid and the Munch Museum in
Oslo are organizing a major exhibition
devoted to Edvard Munch in 2015,
the first show of the Norwegian artist
in Madrid since 1984, which will
include approximately eighty works by
the painter, half of which are from the
Munch Museum’s collection.
TEXT: PALOMA ALARCÓ
The public in Spain feels a special empathy for the more tragic and dramatic facet of Munch’s art,
perhaps owing to certain echoes in his work that reflect the legacy of artists like Goya, or because of
the influence Munch exerted on a number of Spanish painters at the turn of the century, including
Ramón Casas, Santiago Rusiñol and the young Picasso. This show, however, intends to draw attention
as well to less well-known aspects of the creative force that this great master from the late nineteenth
and early twentieth century represented.
Who was this painter from Norway, Edvard Munch, really? A tormented artist with a tragic family history who suffered a kind of permanent existential angst that marked his entire oeuvre, as those who
studied his work from a biographical standpoint took him to be? The last of the Symbolists, an artist
who immortalized in paint and prints the fin-de-siècle conception of universal themes like life, love,
and death? The first of the Expressionists? Or perhaps he was the inventor of an innovative artistic
language that opened the doors onto the art of the twentieth century?
The latest publications and the recent exhibitions in Paris, Zürich, and Oslo have managed to free
Munch from many of the stereotypes imposed upon him in the past, presenting him as a creator
who helped to change the course of history. This exhibition project at the Museo Thyssen seeks to
pursue that same path, elevating Munch to the status of a father figure of Modernism and revealing
the relevance of his fascinating subject matter for contemporary humanity.
Organized thematically, the exhibition will examine Munch’s long and prolific career in its entirety.
The discourse of the show will put particular emphasis on the representation of the human figure
in different settings (the shore, the sickroom, the abyss, the green room, the forest, the night, the
artist’s studio ...) to explain the radicalness of his artistic language. In order to orient the pictorial
space towards a psychological dimension, Munch plays with the ambiguities inherent in opposites:
open versus cramped spaces, stability versus instability, undulating versus straight lines, concisely
highlighted horizontals versus firmly placed verticals. In addition, the flat, sinuous forms, the symbolic
use of colour, his expressive distortions and deformations of the human body, and the use of experimental textures and techniques in his printmaking were basic elements of his artistic vocabulary.
In short, the exhibition will offer an analysis of the artistic strategies that the Norwegian artist deployed in
order to transform his compositions into a lasting statement of symbolic truth about the human condition.
Place: Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza,
Madrid
Period: 6 October–17 January 2016
Curators: Paloma Alarcó and Jon-Ove
Steihaug
Photo: Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza
Edvard Munch: Vampire in the Forest, 1924–25
50
THE SCREAM IN PARIS
On the occasion of the inaugural
exhibition of the Fondation Louis
Vuitton’s newly established museum in
Paris, Edvard Munch’s The Scream will
be presented to the French public in the
spring. The exhibition, which is entitled
Les Clefs d’une passion, presents a
number of famous motifs that are
considered seminal works in the
development of Modernism – works that
would come to form the groundwork
for a whole new artistic vision in the
twentieth century.
TEXT: FONDATION LOUIS VUITTON
Within the framework of the inaugural programme of the Fondation Louis Vuitton (October 2014 to
March 2015) a major “historical” exhibition entitled Les Clefs d’une passion will take place. Under
the general curatorship of Suzanne Pagé, Artistic Director of the Fondation, the exhibition is curated
by Béatrice Parent, Curator of the collection, and Isabelle Monod-Fontaine, former Deputy Director
of the Musée National d’Art Moderne. This exhibition originated out of a desire to share a very careful
selection of groundbreaking works in modernity that have radically changed the course of art history
in the XX° century– from Mondrian and Malevitch to Rothko, from Delaunay to Léger, from Munch
to Giacometti and from Matisse to Kupka. On the occasion of the opening of this new museum, the
exhibition Les Clefs d’une passion has benefited from exceptional loans by some of the most important public and private collections in France and worldwide. Among these is the Munch Museum in
Oslo which has extraordinarily agreed to lend the most emblematic work in its collection, The Scream
(1910?), a timeless icon with universal impact that totally embodies the vulnerability and the existential
anguish of the human being.
This exhibition is intended as the point of departure for ambitious scientific reflection, which will be
developed through a publication and a colloquium. Envisioned as a reference book, the catalogue
will include contributions by the most important international experts on the artists and the works
concerned.
Created on the initiative of Bernard Arnault and designed by architect Frank Gehry, the Fondation Louis
Vuitton museum is situated in the Jardin d’Acclimatation by the Bois de Boulogne, on the western
periphery of Paris. Integrated in the natural environment of the park and set in a basin of water, the
glass architecture marks a new phase in the American architect’s work. The Fondation Louis Vuitton,
a private institution with the status of museum, aims to promote and support contemporary artistic
creation, and reach a broad public, both French and international. This new cultural establishment will
offer modern and contemporary art exhibitions and multidisciplinary events, and display a collection
of contemporary art, primarily from the 1960s to the present.
Place: Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris
Period: 19 March–6 July
Curators: Suzanne Pagé, Béatrice
Parent and Isabelle Monod-Fontaine
For further information:
fondationlouisvuitton.fr
Fondation Louis Vuitton’s recently opened museum is designed by architect Frank Gehry. Photo: © Fondation Louis Vuitton / Iwan
Baan
Edvard Munch: The Scream, 1910?
52
U T S TILLIN G ER IN T E RN A S J O N A LT
53
MUSÉE D’ORSAY
PARIS
DIDRICHSEN ART MUSEUM
HELSINKI
Edvard Munch: Desire, 1898
ATTACK THE SUN.
A TRIBUTE TO THE MARQUIS DE SADE
In connection with the bi-centennial celebration of the Marquis de Sade’s
death, the Musée d’Orsay will honour the French writer.
The Marquis de Sade (Donatien Alphonse François, 1740–1814) was
a French aristocrat, revolutionary politician, philosopher and author,
famous as well as infamous for his libertarian sexuality and lifestyle. His
work includes novels, short stories, plays, dialogues and political tracts.
Edvard Munch: Cabaret, 1885–86
EDVARD MUNCH – THE DANCE OF LIFE
After undergoing major renovations the Didrichsen Museum reopened
its doors in 2014 with the exhibition Edvard Munch – The Dance of Life.
The museum has earned its reputation by consistently mounting superior
exhibitions of both international and Finnish artists and it is often called
“Helsinki’s gem”.
The French writer Anne Le Brun has analysed de Sade’s writings and
the exhibition is based on the revolutionary suppositions that de Sade
introduced in his literature during the 18th century. Themes such as
madness, lust and aberration are discussed and presented via works by
Théodore Géricault, Francisco Goya, Jean August Dominique Ingres, Pablo
Picasso, Auguste Rodin, Félicien Rops and Edvard Munch, among others.
The exhibition offers a broad presentation of Munch’s production, including
versions of famous works such as History and The Dance of Life. The bulk
of the exhibition consists of paintings on loan from the Munch Museum
(Rolf E. Stenersen’s Collection). In addition, works by Munch have been
loaned from the Ateneum Art Museum, Åbo Art Museum, Gothenburg
Museum of Art, Thiel Gallery, Prins Eugens Waldemarsudde and the
National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Oslo.
An exhibition of Edvard
Munch’s works of this
magnitude has not been
shown in Finland for more
than 15 years, and it is
expected to attract considerable attention during
its duration from autumn
2014 to winter 2015.
Photo: Didrichsen Art Museum
Musée d’Orsay. Photo: DXR
Period: 6 September 2014–1 February
For further information: didrichsenmuseum.fi
Period: 13 October 2014–25 January
For further information: musee-orsay.fr
54
CENTRE POMPIDOU-METZ
METZ
COLLABORATION
WITH INDIA
Edvard Munch: In the Man’s Brain, 1897
AURA. ART AND TELEPATHY FROM RODIN TO THE PRESENT
The idea that an artist’s subconscious and mental state can influence the
outcome of a work is fascinating and interesting. By giving credence to this
idea this exhibition wishes to advance a new approach to understanding
the development of art in the 20th century.
The connection between art and the psyche will be examined within the time
frame spanning from the Symbolist era of the 1880s, to the contemporary
art of our time. Based on the theme of “telepathy”, works by great artists
such as Edvard Munch, Joan Miró, Jackson Pollock and Sigmar Polke will
be presented. A number of overriding themes will be drawn up, through
which we take a closer look at how the activity of the subconscious had a
decisive significance for the development of art towards abstraction in the
beginning of the 20th century. Furthermore, the concept of the exhibition
will take a closer look at how abstract art in turn led to Surrealism, as well
as examining new artistic strategies such as Automatism during the interwar
period, for example. In light of the theories regarding “thoughtography”
and attempts at measuring the mind’s electrical activity in the form of an
electroencephalogram (EEG), the idea that the activity of the brain could in
itself explain or justify the artist’s need to break with established conventions
and representations was developed during this period.
Professor Rajeev Lochan, Director of the National Museum of Modern Art in New Delhi, and
the Munch Museum’s Director Stein Olav Henrichsen sign a collaboration agreement between
India’s Ministry of Culture and the Munch Museum. The King and Queen of Norway presided
over the signing, which took place in the Munch Museum on 14 October 2014 during the
state visit from India. Photo: © Munch Museum (Tone Margrethe Gauden)
A major collaborative project has been initiated between the
Munch Museum and India’s Ministry of Culture. The art institutions involved in the project look forward to profiting from one
another’s expertise and to become better acquainted with one
another’s art and culture.
The collaboration means among other things that the Munch Museum will
participate in an active consulting capacity and as a dialogue partner with
the three national museums of modern art in India, in New Delhi, Mumbai
and Bengaluru respectively. Additional collaborations with other cultural
institutions in the country are also a possibility. In addition to exchanging
experience regarding the maintenance of collections, conservation and
exhibition practices, the Munch Museum will contribute expertise in the
area of institutional development, security and marketing strategy. A
central issue in this connection is the realisation of the Munch Museum’s
new building in the Oslo harbour area, Bjørvika.
A perpetuation of this belief can be found in the psychedelic and conceptual
movements of the 1960s and 70s – which can also be seen in relation to
the science fiction genre and futurist ideas about “cyberspace”. In recent
times developments in neuroscience and information technology have
spawned renewed interest in continued investigations associated with the
human psyche.
The exhibition presents over
200 works of art by some of the
20th century’s most prominent
artists, and is curated by Pascal
Rosseau, Professor of Art History at the Sorbonne in Paris.
In general the transnational collaboration will give the Munch Museum
an opportunity to establish a broader base for Edvard Munch’s art – in
India in particular, and in Asia in general. The agreement also paves the
way towards a broad and inclusive cultural exchange where new relations
between Norwegian and Indian artists and art institutions can be forged.
In this way the Munch Museum and India’s Ministry of Culture hope to
contribute to strengthening the cultural ties between India and Norway.
Centre Pompidou-Metz. Photo: Philippe Gisselbrecht
Period: 5 June–11 January 2016
For further information: centrepompidou-metz.fr
55
VAN GOGH MUSEUM
AMSTERDAM
Vincent van Gogh: The Yellow House (“The Street”), 1888 Arles
Edvard Munch: Fertility, 1899–1900. Canica Art Collection
Edvard Munch: Red Virginia Creeper, 1898–1900
Vincent van Gogh: The Sower, 1888 Arles
VAN GOGH+MUNCH
In 2015–16 the Van Gogh Museum and the Munch Museum present the
large-scale exhibition Van Gogh+Munch. Upon the close of the springsummer 2015 showing in Oslo, the exhibition will travel to the Van Gogh
Museum in Amsterdam and run from autumn 2015 to winter 2016.
The exhibition will include approximately 70 paintings and 30 works on paper,
and is comprised of an exchange of loans between the two museums, in
addition to extensive loans from other Norwegian and foreign collections.
The curators Maite van Dijk, Magne Bruteig and Jon-Ove Steihaug have
collaborated on the exhibition and accompanying publications.
Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890) and Edvard Munch (1863–1944) are
both world-renowned artists. Despite obvious similarities, the connections
between the two have never been thoroughly illuminated in the context of
an exhibition. The two museums have worked together as equal partners in
this project, which will present both new research and an exciting selection
of well-known and iconic works by both artists.
Period: 25 september–17 januay 2016
Curators: Maite van Dijk, Magne Bruteig and Jon-Ove Steihaug
For further information: vangoghmuseum.nl
56
THE WATERFRONT IDEAS
– NEW DEBATE SERIES
In collaboration with Deloitte Norway the Munch Museum will launch a debate
programme in 2015, whose aim is to inspire and strengthen the social discourse
which spans the arenas of business, academia, the public sector, organisations
and the individual.
Disagreement is valuable for social progress. New ideas can be provoking, yet often
lead to reflection and debates that contribute to carrying society forward. General
agreement can lead to a halt in development. Growth in modern society is dependent on identifying challenges, describing them accurately and promoting open
discussions to find good solutions.
The series will consist of lectures, presentations and debates, and aims at creating
an arena for big ideas and new voices.
The programme will have an international profile, and guests from important fields
both at home and abroad will be invited.
The arrangements are open to all and we look forward to interest and participation
from the public.
Make note of the dates: 26 February, 21 May, 13 August and 12 November.
For information about the programme and participants:
munchmuseet.no
Photo: Stian Schioldborg
© Munchmuseet/Munch-Ellingsen Gruppen/BONO 2014
A UNIQUE AND
INNOVATIVE PARTNERSHIP
The Munch Museum, Thon Hotels and Color Line
have signed a long-term cooperation to strengthen
interest in Edvard Munch’s art and increase the
number of visitors to the Munch Museum in Oslo.
munchmuseet.no | colorline.no | thonhotels.no
SELF PORTRAIT, 1988 © ROBERT MAPPLETHORPE FOUNDATION. COURTESY OF SEAN KELLY GALLERY, NEW YORK
GAN APPEL BAERTLING BERGMAN RIAN
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Annonse_Munch_new.indd 1
27.10.14 13:16
Øyafestivalen 2015
Tøyenparken, Oslo, August 11-15
oyafestivalen.com
Photo:
Foto:Johannes
JohannesGranseth
Granseth
Øyafestivalen, Norway’s biggest
music festival, is proud to cooperate
and share this beautiful park with
The Munch Museum
F O RSK NIN G
60
F O RSK NIN G
RESEARCH
Edvard Munch left his collection of nearly 28 000
works of art to the City of Oslo in 1940. Also
included in the bequest were 15 000 objects,
consisting among other things of Munch’s private
library, his archive of newspaper articles, furniture
and work tools. The gift also encompassed Munch’s
written material amounting to approximately 15 000
pages, which include comments on his own work,
literary texts, general correspondence and more.
This extensive and unique gift is maintained by the
Munch Museum, and our continuous research based
on the collection can be seen as the major thrust of
the museum’s activity on this front.
Edvard Munch: Workers in Snow, 1913–15
61
RE SE A RCH
RESEARCH PROJECTS
In addition to institutional collaborations the Munch Museum is also dependent on continuously strengthening its in-house expertise. Munch Museum
Curator Lars Toft-Eriksen has just begun his Ph.D. research on Munch’s art
as part of the doctoral programme at the University of Oslo. His research
project is entitled Re-reading Rolf Stenersen’s Story of Munch and the Myth
of Genius. As the title suggests, the project proposes a critical investigation
of the concept of an artist as genius and the role this played in the reception
of Munch’s art. Rolf Stenersen’s popular book Edvard Munch: Close-up of
a Genius (1944) played a decisive role in this regard, and will be analysed.
The University of Oslo recently awarded a Ph.D. grant devoted to Munch’s
art to Gustav Jørgen Pedersen. His project, On the Modern Life of the Soul:
Edvard Munch and the Question of Human Existence, will examine how
the ideas related to human existence during the fin-de-siècle period are
expressed in some of Munch’s early pictures.
Edvard Munch left his collection of nearly 28 000 works of art
to the City of Oslo in 1940. Also included in the bequest were
15 000 objects, consisting among other things of Munch’s
private library, his archive of newspaper articles, furniture
and work tools. The gift also encompassed Munch’s written
material amounting to approximately 15 000 pages, which
include comments on his own work, literary texts, general
correspondence and more.
Art Historical Research
The systematising, cataloguing and researching of Munch’s legacy has been
carried out from the time the City of Oslo received the collection over 70
years ago, and the founding of the Munch Museum in 1963 facilitated an
intensification of this work. Among previously realised projects of particular
significance we can mention the catalogues raisonnés of Edvard Munch’s
graphic works (2001) and paintings (2009), both carried out under the
direction of Senior Curator Gerd Woll.
Conservation Research
A major task in the Munch Museum’s conservation practice is to acquire new
knowledge about Edvard Munch’s works and the materials he employed.
This implies, among other things, analyses of the materials, degradation
products and the contents of previously applied components. The result of
such analyses often increases the possibilities of finding the best suitable
methods for preserving Munch’s art for posterity.
As an extension of the catalogues raisonnés of graphic works and paintings,
a similar research project devoted to Munch’s drawings was established
in 2014. The project, which encompasses approximately 7 000 drawings,
will within a period of three years result in a complete web-based catalogue
raisonné and a large-scale publication. Together they will make this part
of Munch’s oeuvre known to a large public and become an important tool
for researchers around the globe.
To take an example, we can mention Munch’s painting Workers in Snow
(1913–15), which is reproduced on page 60–61. This work has been chosen
on numerous occasions for both in-house and external exhibitions, a request
which we have been forced to decline due to its poor condition. The painting
is a particularly good illustration of the consequences of Munch’s working
methods, material use and previous conservation treatment. The poor condition of many of his works has often been explained by the fact that they
were painted or stored outdoors. In the project where we examine and treat
Workers in Snow, however, we focus on the significance that the materials
and the previous treatment may have for the work’s present condition.
In addition to the catalogues raisonnés, in recent years extensive work has
also been devoted to digitising and disseminating Munch’s writings and his
correspondence with friends, family, artists and business contacts. The
project, which is called eMunch.no, is now in its third phase. In this phase
the letters and other correspondence that Munch received are being catalogued, digitised and published by the museum with the help of volunteers
on the Internet. In addition, we are in the process of translating his writings
into other languages, such as English, Spanish and Dutch.
Previous conservation treatment is the focus of another project as well. Many
of Munch’s paintings were subjected to more or less standard treatment in the
period following his death. Among other things, a strip of paper was glued along
the edges of all stretched canvases in order to stabilise the paint layers and the
support material. Over time the excess of the glue that was used has caused
damage in the paint layers along the edges of the paintings. Finding methods
for removing the glue without simultaneously damaging the original paint has
been a longstanding challenge. The aim of the project has been to test which
cleaning methods can be used without incurring new damage to the paintings.
Also included in the museum’s research protocol are collaborations with other
institutions that support and complement our own expertise, e.g. our joint project with the University of Oslo and the National Museum of Art, Architecture
and Design, which was established in 2012. Aside from annual seminars, the
collaboration encompasses the promotion of a broader international research
project regarding Munch’s art. The project is entitled Edvard Munch and the
Question of Modernism, and will examine Munch’s position in the context of a
broader art historical discussion of Modernism. Munch is often considered a
key figure in the development of Symbolism and Expressionism around the year
1900. At the same time his late works, from 1910 onwards, have been seen as
less important and almost marginal with respect to the further development of
Modernism during the twentieth century. This project is groundbreaking as it
poses questions about established perceptions of Modernism based on a figurative, Nordic artist like Munch. In addition to the participating institutions the
project will involve a network of international scholars, headed by the acclaimed
Munch scholar Patricia G. Berman, who is a Professor at Wellesley College in
Massachusetts and an Associate Professor at the University of Oslo.
One of the Munch Museum’s current research projects is related to Edvard
Munch’s approximately 7 000 drawings and will result in an internet based
catalogue raisonné as well as a richly illustrated tome. Examples from the
project are shown here: Three sketches for The Scream, 1895, ink (pen) over
pencil.
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F O RSK NIN G
63
RE SE A RCH
MUNCH’S
PALETTES AND PAINT TUBES
In the Munch Museum’s storage rooms is a large collection of Edvard Munch’s art tools and materials consisting among other things of
palettes, brushes, binding agents, chalk, crayons, pencils and 1 400 tubes of paint. In the autumn of 2014 the museum’s conservation
department began registering and documenting each of the items, in addition to analysing the contents of the paint tubes. The aim of
the project is to gain new knowledge about Munch’s materials and painting techniques, as well as the aging properties of the materials.
During the period 2009–11 the museum’s conservation department carried out a collaborative
project with the Museum of Cultural History in
Oslo. The project, which produced analysis results
of a selection of paint tubes, resulted in an article
entitled “Exploring an artist’s practice: Edvard
Munch’s paint tubes», which was published in
the book The Artist’s Process: Technology and
Interpretation (2012). In the autumn of 2014
the conservation department has been able to
continue working with the contents of the paint
tubes as they have now acquired instruments that
allow them to analyse the contents. The project is
complex and divided into several phases.
In the first phase all of the photographic and
written documentation about the materials that
already exists, but which is incomplete, will be
reviewed. At the same time every single item
will be registered and photographed. In the next
phase micro-samples will be taken of all of the
paint tubes. The intention is to analyse all of the
samples with the spectroscopic methods that are
now available at the museum.
Painting Conservator Terje Syversen is one of the Munch
Museum’s staff participating in the newly commenced
analysis project.
One of Edvard Munch’s palettes.
The paint tubes include a number of different
brands, and some of them are no longer in
production. We will analyse the binding agents,
pigments and additive products contained in
the tubes, all of which have great significance
for the paint’s physical qualities. The binding
agents in particular affect the optical appearance
of the paint, its behaviour when being applied
to a support, and not least its aging properties.
There is abundant documentation about when
the various types of paint were manufactured
and became available on the market. During the
period 1856 –1930, i.e. the period when Munch’s
paint tubes stem from, a number of new pigments
and materials were developed. Information of this
kind, and analysis results of the contents of the
tubes are important tools for answering questions
about authenticity and dating.
Alongside analyses of the original material, we will
build up an index of references. References in this
context are materials having a known chemical
composition, which are run through all of the
analysis instruments. The references will be used
in comparative analyses with the original materials,
such as the paint tubes, for instance, in order to
simplify the interpretation of these.
In the final phase we will build up a database for
use in the future research on Munch’s painting
techniques, material use and degradation phenomena in the works of art. The analysis results will
also be available upon request to researchers
outside the museum, artists, students and other
interested parties.
The project is a major contribution to the museum’s
work in preserving and developing new knowledge
about Munch’s materials and material use in order
to conserve the art collection in the best possible
way. Building up an index of references alongside of
chemical analyses of original materials is essential for
answering questions about the state of the collection.
Increased knowledge about continuous chemical
and physical degradation in the paintings is a precondition for being able to develop more “tailored”
conservation measures, and greater knowledge
about the original materials and painting techniques
will also be an increasingly more important tool with
regard to determining authenticity and the dating
of the artworks.
A selection of the approximately 1 400 paint tubes Edvard Munch left behind, which today
are included in the Munch Museum’s collection of artefacts and art tools.
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65
EFFECTIVE PUBLICITY
FOR YOUR COMPANY
Do you wish to have your company associated with one of the
world’s most famous artists and Norway’s national treasure?
As a sponsor you will have exclusive access to exhibitions
and events at the Munch and Stenersen Museums. A
sponsor agreement will provide your company with the
following and more:
Photo: © Øystein Thorvaldsen
• Effective and valuable branding.
• Affiliation with leading international brands and
quality products in the cultural sector
• Access to relevant target groups
• Unique access to international networks
Curious about what your company can gain from
a collaboration with us? Contact us for an obligation
free sponsor chat: Tel. 97 05 78 19 or
info.munch@munchmuseet.no
Proud contributor to an
increased interest in art
We are proud to have contributed to the growing public
interest in Munch. By supporting unique art dissemination
projects our aim is to increase interest in visual art, in
particular among children and young adults.
The aim of the DNB Savings Bank Foundation is to be a
significant patron, supporter and catalyst in the Norwegian art
world. We are in the process of building up a significant art
collection, and lending it to Norwegian museums on a longterm basis. Priority is given to artists and works that are little
known in Norway, so that our museums have the opportunity
to convey new and alternative histories to a broad public.
Edvard Munch, Self-portrait with Cigarette (1895). Photo © Sverre Chr. Jarlid
B O O KS, FILMS A ND MUSI C
BOOKS
Edvard Munch.
Fotografier
Edvard Munch,
artes-bok 18
Cecilie Tyri Holt
William Ritter
Forlaget Press, Oslo, 2013
Pax Forlag, Oslo, 2015
Skrik. Historien
om et bilde
Poul Erik Tøjner,
Bjarne Riiser Gundersen
Forlaget Press, Oslo, 2013
Since Edvard Munch painted the first version of
Scream in 1893, inspired by a walk on Ekebergåsen, a hill overlooking the Oslo harbour, the
picture has become a modern icon – one of a
handful of artworks that is intuitively recognised
by a broad public the world over. As a work of art
it encompasses many stories: the story about its
creation, its place in Munch’s artistic production,
its owners, its exhibition history, its role in a suspenseful crime story, its widespread influence,
and its part in a commercial success story – to
name a few. The book collects all of these various
threads and introduces the diverse elements of
Munch’s painting to a broad public – and it is a
collector’s item in itself.
Scream is an exceptional book project in a
Norwegian as well as international context. For
the first time, the many separate factors which
Munch’s painting encompass – from psychoanalytical interpretation models to the sale of
inflatable Scream dolls – are gathered into an
integrated whole.
Munch
Steffen Kverneland
No Comprendo Press,
Oslo, 2013
Steffen Kverneland’s Munch is a graphic biography
which presents Edvard Munch’s life and work
through extended use of excerpts from Munch’s
own writings and descriptions of his contemporaries. In addition, Kverneland delves into Munch’s
artistic process and recreates his pictures and the
circumstances surrounding their creation instead
of using facsimiles, a method that actually brings
one much closer to the artworks. His exploitation
of the comic book format is exceptional, and with
this work Kverneland elevates the genre to a new
level. The book has been translated into German,
French, Korean, Polish, Dutch and Danish. In 2013
it won the Brage Prize for Non-Fiction, the Ministry of Culture’s prize for best comic book and the
Pondus Prize.
Edvard Munch’s entire photographic production is
collected in this book, not only those photographs
that have served as prototypes for paintings. The
photographs are presented in their original size
and as independent works.
“I have an old out-dated box which I have
taken countless pictures of myself with. It often
creates astonishing effects. The day I become old
and have nothing better to do than occupy myself
with an autobiography, then all of my photographic
self-portraits will also see the light of day.”
Edvard Munch (1930)
Edvard Munch i Moss.
Kunst, krig og kapital
Hans-Martin Frydenberg
Flaatten
Sem & Stenersen Oslo, 2014
The book sheds light on a central, yet little known
period in Edvard Munch’s art and career and
discusses a relatively contented period of his life.
By this time Munch had become established as
a successful artist both in Norway and abroad.
He led a very active life in Moss, with frequent
guests from abroad: art collectors, artists and
museum representatives. Many came to have
portraits painted of their wives and daughters,
others wished to buy pictures or meet Munch
in order to discuss future exhibitions, in Norway
and abroad. The author also takes up the subject
of Munch’s everyday life in Moss, among other
things his daily walks with his dog Boy to the Moss
train station to buy the day’s newspapers and his
frequent visits to the cinema in Moss.
Edvard Munch i Moss provides an interesting
overview of the major works from the period
1913–1916; among them one of his most
famous works, Workers on Their Way Home,
and the completion of the Aula decorations for
the University of Oslo. In addition, it provides
information about how Munch initiated a new
cycle of motifs depicting gardens and landscapes
in vibrant colours while living in Moss.
67
In 1905 there was an exhibition of Edvard Munch’s
works in one of Prague’s galleries. It shocked a
European public. The art connoisseur, critic and
cosmopolitan William Ritter was also provoked by
it. He wrote an incensed, yet also deeply fascinated “review” of Munch’s pictures. The text is
ambivalent, the author was shocked. The following
year Ritter’s virtuoso text was published in the
tome Etudes d’Art étranger. Also included here
were several other contemporary artists, such as
the composers Mahler and Strauss and the painter Böcklin. Ritter discusses the pictures one by
one, as he becomes aware of “all that is hideous
in our time”. At the same time he maintains that
“the daub-painting, cold Norwegian” is a genius.
Someone who paints “grimaces of grief” and
“disconsolate individuals in purple rooms with
windows raped by saffron!”.
Professor of art history Øivind Storm Bjerke
has written a detailed afterword, discussing
among other things the reactions to Munch’s
early work, the myth of the artist and ideas and
trends around the turn of the last century. The
book includes a large number of Munch reproductions. Research Librarian Lasse Jacobsen of
the Munch Museum is editor of the illustrations.
Publication 2015
Meet Edvard Munch
Hilde Dybvik, Lasse Jacobsen, Ellen Lerberg, Lill Heidi
Opsahl, Sivert Thue and
Hilde Ødegaard
Skira Kids, Milano, 2013
The book, which was published in connection
with the 150th anniversary exhibition in the
Munch Museum and the National Museum of
Art, Architecture and Design in Oslo, presents
Edvard Munch’s artistry in a simple language,
aimed at a young public. The six stories provide an
overall picture of his artistic career, and a number
of Munch’s paintings are reproduced. A timeline
underscores important years in the artist’s life,
and a glossary at the back of the book explains
words and terms.
Edvard Munch –
Works on Paper
Edvard Munch.
Et utsatt liv
Magne Bruteig and Ute
Kuhlemann Falck (Eds.)
Stian Grøgaard
Vigeland+Munch
Edited by Trine Otte Bak Nielsen
Mercatorfonds in collaboration with the Munch
Museum, 2015
Akademika Forlag, Oslo, 2013
Munch Museum and
Mercatorfonds, 2014
In the course of his career Edvard Munch created
approximately 850 different prints and 8 000
drawings and watercolours. These represent an
independent art form with its own repertoire of
techniques, styles and idioms – and they are
presented here for the first time as a separate
category – with paper as the common denominator. The publication provides a general introduction to Munch’s lifelong commitment to art
on paper; it encompasses well-known works as
well as childhood drawings, sketches, curiosa
and lesser known treasures.
Articles by recognised Norwegian and
international Munch scholars examine, among
other things, the various techniques that Munch
employed in his prints and drawings; early works
featuring his family and their daily life; his relationship to contemporary artists and the intellectual milieu of the so-called “Kristiania
Bohemia”; and the impact that the dramatic
relationship with Tulla Larsen had on him and
his art.
The book can be warmly recommended to those
who are not well-acquainted with Munch. For
those who think they know Munch, it is invaluable.
Edvard Munch –
Close-up of a Genius
Rolf E. Stenersen
Sem & Stenersen, Oslo, 2012
The book combines a practical and aestheticphilosophical perspective on Munch’s
major paintings. It follows his artistic career
chronologically and dates the three fundamental
transitions in Edvard Munch’s working methods.
The reader is presented with the factors behind
the various processes in Munch’s oeuvre. The
processes replace one another like stages in a
vulnerable life, and this life required concepts
that described the logical transitions between
three forms of painterly practice. Largely built on
concepts, this book a “philosophical biography”.
Guttorm Guttormsgaard – Known Unknown
Edited by Jon-Ove Steihaug
Pax Forlag in collaboration with the Munch Museum, 2015
Munch Museum Catalogues 2015
Melgaard+Munch
Edited by Lars Toft-Eriksen
Hatje Cantz in collaboration with the Munch Museum,
2015
What relevance does Edvard Munch have today?
And how can Munch’s art be viewed in new ways
via a comparison with a contemporary artist like
Bjarne Melgaard? The Munch Museum will
explore these questions in the exhibition Melgaard+Munch. The catalogue is published in
connection with the exhibition and includes
articles by Patricia G. Berman, David Lomas
and Øystein Sjåstad.
Guttorm Guttormsgaard has been a central figure in
the Norwegian art world since the 1960s. His artistic career spans a number of phases, mediums and
idioms. The exhibition at the Stenersen Museum
will present this copious and important oeuvre
for the first time in its full scope. The catalogue is
published in connection with the exhibition and
includes articles by Johanna Drucker, Lars Mørch
Finborud, Ellef Prestsæther and Espen Søbye.
FILMS
Let the Scream
be heard
Van Gogh+Munch
Edited by Maite van Dijk and Magne Bruteig
Mercatorfonds in collaboration with the Van Gogh
Museum and the Munch Museum, 2015
First published in 1944, the book is considered a
classic among biographies. This new, illustrated
edition adds a whole new perspective, and a
whole new dimension to the text. Art historian and
writer Hans-Martin Frydenberg Flaatten is photo
editor of the book. He has also written captions to
accompany the illustrated artworks as well as an
extensive introduction. The captions provide new
and supplementary information about the background for Munch’s motifs, as well as about the
various persons and situations that are depicted.
For the first time a major dual exhibition will be
devoted to two giants in the history of Norwegian
art, Edvard Munch and Gustav Vigeland. Their
work, development and ambitions have many
interesting traits in common, which will provide
the public with an opportunity to discover new
connections between the two. The catalogue is
published in connection with the exhibition and
includes articles by Per Faxneld, Petra Pettersen,
Guri Skuggen and Jarle Strømodden, among others. In addition, Stanislaw Przybyszewski’s essay
Edvard Munch’s Artworks from 1894 will be published for the first time in Norwegian and English.
Be prepared for the art event of the year in 2015!
Edvard Munch and Vincent van Gogh will compete
for the first time together in a dual exhibition based
on a collaboration between two of the world’s
leading monographic museums; the Van Gogh
Museum in Amsterdam and the Munch Museum.
The catalogue is published in connection with the
exhibition and includes articles by Reinhold Heller,
Jill Lloyd and Uwe Schneede, among others.
Directed by Dheeraj Akolkar
Producer: Nordic Stories, 2013
Released on DVD in 2015
Let the Scream be heard is an international documentary film and an artistic exploration of the
universal and timeless quality of Edvard Munch’s
oeuvre – an artistic career that extends over 62
years and more than 40.000 works. The film
was made in connection with Edvard Munch’s
150th jubilee.
The Munch Museum’s shop offers a wide selection of literature, music and films related to Edvard Munch. Members of the museum’s club
are given a 20% discount. The museum shop follows the museum’s opening hours. For more detailed information about publications and
other queries send an e-mail to: shop@munchmuseet.no or phone 23 49 35 00.
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Edvard Munch –
Five short films
The Mothers of Munch
Munch Suite
Directed by Lars Rasmussen
Henning Kraggerud
Producer: Norwegian Film
Institute, 2013
Producer: Karivold Film as, 2013
Simax, 2013
In connection with the Munch jubilee, the Norwegian Film Institute collected five short films dating
from 1957 to 1989. English subtitles.
Glimt fra Edvard Munchs liv
Directed by: Martin Knutsen
Producer: Norsk Film A/S, 1957, b/wh, 10 min.
Edvard Munch 1863 – 1944
Directed by: Ulf Balle Røyem
Producer: Norsk Film A/S, 1963, colour, 11 min.
Ansikter
Directed by: Anja Breien
Edvard Munch – Et selvportrett
Directed by: Paul René Roestad, Jan Olav Brynjulfsen,
Jan Erik Düring
Edvard Munch – Post Mortem
Directed by: Skule Eriksen
Producer: Skule Eriksen, 1989, colour, 9 min.
Edvard Munch (1974)
Directed by Peter Watkins
Producer: Arthaus, 2007
Munchs Mødre (Munch’s Mothers) is a documentary film about the two most important women in
Edvard Munch’s life: his mother Laura Cathrine
Munch and his aunt Karen Bjølstad. Each in their
own way they became the women who “stood
behind him and showed the way ahead”. His
mother through her love and premature death, his
aunt through her own creative mind, her devotion
and as a model.
“My aunt took active part in our drawing efforts,
and it was probably she who contributed most
to my becoming a painter, at least at such an
early stage”.
Edvard Munch (1933)
Sunrise − A Cantata on
Texts by Edvard Munch
Ketil Bjørnstad
MUSIC
ECM, 2013
Lars Lillo-Stenberg
synger Munchs
hjerteblod
Lars Lillo-Stenberg
Warner Music, 2013
This famous documentary drama portrays the
young Edvard Munch and his relationship with
his deeply religious, bourgeois family, hard hit by
illness and death. The film deals with his encounter
with the Kristiania Bohemia and its struggle against
established conventions, and with his first difficult
relationships with women. The setting of the film
is the social disparities and cultural struggles of
the times. At the centre is Munch along with his
early paintings, incessantly preoccupied with the
themes of illness and death, unrequited love and
angst-ridden sexuality. Much of the dialogue is
taken from Munch’s journals. All of the characters
are played by amateurs, and this too contributes
to the film’s unique fictional documentary form.
The director of the Vestfold Music Festival Svein
Eriksen initiated the idea of having contemporary composers interpret Edvard Munch’s
striking visual idiom through music. When the
world famous violinist Henning Kraggerud also
became excited by the project, it made it possible
to choose from among the very best international
composers. The result is a suite of solo works
centering on Munch’s pictures that reflects the
painter’s outstanding position as artistic inspiration – also within the realm of music.
Edvard Munch’s written words are transformed
into texts that are sung to newly composed melodies by and with Lars Lillo-Stenberg. The texts
describe well-known works such as Scream,
Melancholy and Madonna, but also texts based
on other lyrical prose and notes from his journals
are included. Compared to everything that Munch
has written this is of course merely a sample,
but it is a sample that can be enjoyed over and
over again. Perfectionism is not what constitutes
perfection in Munch’s art, and one can say the
same about this release as well. Perfection is
demonstrating that life exists. As Munch said:
“Art must be created with one’s lifeblood”.
In 1993 Ketil Bjørnstad and Kari Bremnes released the album of music Løsrivelse (Separation)
set to Edvard Munch’s writings. The album sold
50.000 copies. Bjørnstad continues his collaboration with Bremnes on Sunrise. He has worked
with Edvard Munch’s texts, both as a musician
and as a writer, since the time he met the head
of the Munch Museum Pål Hougen in the early
70s. “My approach to Munch is that he was also
a very gifted writer”, says Ketil Bjørnstad.
Sunrise is a cantata that is structured on
some of Edvard Munch’s most poignant texts,
where he vacillates between destructive forces and reconciliation with life and light, as he
depicts it in one of his masterpieces, The Sun
in the University of Oslo’s Aula.
The Munch Museum’s research library primarily contains literature regarding Edvard Munch, including books, dissertations, exhibition
catalogues and articles, as well as newspaper clippings and documentary photographs. Of equal importance are the transcriptions of Munch’s
correspondence, journals and notes, which are being published sequentially on the digital archive eMunch.no as the transcriptions are
completed. The library has contributed to many book and catalogue publications, and to a number film productions. The library, which also
contains Munch’s private book collection from Ekely, is open to the public by appointment.
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ACTIVITIES
FOR CHILDREN
Picture Hunting
Open Workshops
The Munch Museum arranges workshops
for children, families and young adults
on a regular basis – often related to the
changing exhibitions. Join us in creating
graphic art, a painting, a short film, or
some other art form together with
professional artists.
Pick up a map at the ticket
counter and start your
hunting expedition in the
current exhibition. Can
you find the details in the
pictures and place them
where they belong?
YoungScream
Children are welcome to participate in the programme YoungScream in the Munch Museum’s
workshop every first Saturday of the month from
12–14 PM. YoungScream includes a guided tour
and activities in the workshop, such as printmaking, painting, film or collage. The programme
is aimed at children in the age group 7–12, but
everyone is welcome. Children often benefit more
from a museum visit by being creative themselves. Children under the age of 18 are allowed
free entrance to the museum, but the workshops
fee is NOK 50 per person.
Third place
ArtPort
Nominated for the
International Design
and Communication
Awards 2014
The Cultural Rucksack
(Den kulturelle skolesekken)
The Munch Museum offers standard as well
as open programmes through The
Cultural Rucksack. The standard programme
Do You Know Munch? (Kjenner du Munch?)
is compulsory for all 7th graders in the Oslo
school district. The pupils spend three hours
at the museum, a visit that includes a lecture,
a guided tour and a workshop.
Become an art detective in the museum! With
the ArtPort app children and young families can
go on a search mission and explore Munch’s
art together. In 2015 young adults can also use
ArtPort’s MemoNotes as an educational aid for
many of their courses in upper secondary school.
Sponsored by the DNB Savings Bank Foundation
Photo: © Øystein Thorvaldsen
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GUID ED T O URS A ND O THER AC TIVITIE S
ACTIVITIES
CHILDREN, ADULTS AND FAMILIES
Guided Tours at the Munch Museum
The Munch Museum offers guided public tours every Sunday at 1 PM. In July and August the tours are
given in English daily at 1 PM and in Norwegian on Sundays at 2 PM. The tours are free of charge with a
paid entrance ticket. In connection with new exhibitions, tours are also given by our curators. Tours tailored
for families are offered every second Sunday of the month. The Munch Museum also participates with its
own programme in public events such as Oslo Kulturnatt. Private tours can be reserved at:
booking@munchmuseet.no
Photo: © Vegard Kleven
Guided Tours at the Stenersen Museum
Guided tours of the current exhibitions are offered every Sunday at 2.30 PM.
The tours are free of charge with an entrance ticket.
The museum also offers tours for nursery schools, elementary schools and secondary schools as well
as other groups. Guided tours must be reserved in advance by phone: 23 49 36 00 or at:
info.stenersen@munchmuseet.no
Photo: © Munch Museum
Lectures, Theme Tours and BabyScream
Throughout the year the Munch Museum offers lectures, outings and guided tours based on themes
related to the current exhibitions. Take advantage of the opportunity to become better acquainted with
Munch’s art. BabyScream, which is free of charge with a paid entrance ticket, is a popular arrangement
for those on parental leave.
Audioguides
The Munch Museum offers audio guides for several of its exhibitions. Through sound tracks linked to
pictures in the exhibitions, the public can access information regarding selected artworks in Norwegian,
English or German. The audio guides are iPods, which are easy to use. In 2015 we will offer audio guides for
the exhibitions Munch+Van Gogh and Munch+Vigeland.
Film Programme
The Munch Museum shows films based on Munch’s life. The film programme, which is new for 2015, is
posted on munchmuseet.no
The Cultural Walking Stick (Den kulturelle spaserstokken)
The Munch Museum offers all senior citizens living in Oslo free guided tours and/or workshops with
instruction in the various art techniques by professional visual artists. The length of the tours can be tailored
to need. This is a popular programme and can be combined with lunch in the museum café. For residents
of nursing homes a brief tour is ideal.
Further information at munchmuseet.no and stenersenmuseet.no
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2015
THE MUNCH MUSEUM
THE STENERSEN MUSEUM
C A LENDA R O F E V EN T S
7.3.
8.3.
15.3.
22.3
JANUARY
3.1.
4.1.
31.1.
YoungScream. Workshop for children 7–12
years old. Max. 20 children
Last day of the exhibition Through Nature
Sunday tour of the exhibition
Through Nature
The exhibition Melgaard+Munch opens to
the public
FEBRUARY
1.2.
Guided tour of the exhibition
Melgaard+Munch by curator Lars ToftEriksen
Guided tour for the Munch Museum’s
Membership Club of the exhibition
Melgaard+Munch by curator Lars ToftEriksen
4.2.
BabyScream. Guided tour of the exhibition
Melgaard+Munch for adults on parental
leave
7.2.
The exhibition Guttorm Guttormsgaard –
Known Unknown opens to the public
8.2.
Family tour of the exhibition
Melgaard+Munch
Melgaard+Munch
Guided tour of the exhibition Guttorm
Guttormsgaard – Known Unknown by
curator Jon-Ove Steihaug
Guttorm Guttormsgaard – Known
Unknown by curator Jon-Ove Steihaug
14.2. Chamber Music Concert by the Oslo
Philharmonic Orchestra
15.2. Artist talk with Bjarne Melgaard and
curator Lars Toft-Eriksen in the exhibition
Melgaard+Munch
Melgaard+Munch
Sunday tour of the exhibition Guttorm
Guttormsgaard – Known Unknown
18.2. Winter school vacation – guided tour and
mixed media workshop for grades 5–7.
Max. 20 children
19.2. Winter school vacation – guided tour and
mixed media workshop for grades 5–7.
Max. 20 children
21.–22. Super weekend
22.2 Sunday tour of the exhibition
Melgaard+Munch
MARCH
1.3.
4.3.
Melgaard+Munch
leave
29.3.
Chamber Music Concert by the Oslo
Melgaard+Munch
Melgaard+Munch
Melgaard+Munch
Mixed media workshop for families. Max.
20 persons
Melgaard+Munch
Melgaard+Munch
APRIL
JUNE
3.6.
6.6.
6.–7.
7.6.
14.6.
21.6.
22.6.
28.6.
1.4.
leave
4.4.
5.4.
Melgaard+Munch
11.4. Chamber Music Concert by the Oslo
12.4. Last day of the exhibition
Melgaard+Munch
Melgaard+Munch
Melgaard+Munch
19.4. Sunday tour of the mini exhibition
25.–26. Super weekend
26.4. Sunday tour of the mini exhibition
MAY
3.5.
9.5
10.5.
24.5.
31.5.
Sunday tour of the mini exhibition
The exhibition Van Gogh+Munch opens to
the public
Chamber music concert by the Oslo
Van Gogh+Munch by curator Magne
Bruteig
Van Gogh+Munch by curator Magne
Bruteig
Van Gogh+Munch
Van Gogh+Munch
72
Van Gogh+Munch for adults on parental
leave
Family weekend
Van Gogh+Munch
Van Gogh+Munch
Van Gogh+Munch
Van Gogh+Munch
Last day of the exhibition Guttorm
Closed for the summer,
22 June–17 September
Van Gogh+Munch
JULY
1.–5.
The workshop is open every day in July
Van Gogh+Munch in English
5.7.
Van Gogh+Munch in Norwegian
6.–12. Guided tour of the exhibition
12.7. Family tour of the exhibition
19.7. Sunday tour of the exhibition
AUGUST
1.–2.
The workshop is open every day in August
2.8.
9.8.
31.8. Guided tour of the exhibition
C A LENDA R O F E V EN T S
Edvard Munch in one of his outdoor studios at Ekely in 1925. Photo: Lutz & Co., Berlin. Munch Museum archives.
SEPTEMBER
2.9.
5.9.
6.9.
13.9.
18.9.
20.9.
27.9.
Van Gogh+Munch for adults on parental
leave
Last day of the exhibition
Van Gogh+Munch
Van Gogh+Munch
Family tour of the mini exhibition
The exhibitions Into the Crucible – The
Early Weidemann and From the Stenersen
Collection: Norwegian Modernism and
Avant-garde, 1900–1950 open to the
public
Guided tour of the exhibition Into the
Crucible – The Early Weidemann by
curator Hans Ludvig Arentz
Membership Club of the exhibition Into
the Crucible – The Early Weidemann by
curator Hans Ludvig Arentz
Sunday tour of the exhibition Norwegian
Modernism and Avant-garde, 1900–1950
Sunday tour of the exhibitions Into the
Crucible – The Early Weidemann and
Norwegian Modernism and Avant-garde,
1900–1950
OCTOBER
3.10.
The exhibition Vigeland+Munch opens to
the public
YoungScream. Let’s make sculpture.
Workshop for children 7–12 years old.
Max. 20 children
Vigeland+Munch
1900–1950
7.10 BabyScream. Guided tour of the exhibition
Vigeland+Munch for adults on parental
leave
11.10. Guided tour of the exhibition
Vigeland+Munch by curator Trine Otte Bak
Nielsen
Vigeland+Munch by curator Trine Otte Bak
Nielsen
Vigeland+Munch
1900–1950
Vigeland+Munch
Crucible–The Early Weidemann and
1900–1950
Vigeland+Munch
Crucible–The Early Weidemann and
1900–1950
31.10. Family weekend
1900–1950
Vigeland+Munch
1900–1950
Vigeland+Munch
1900–1950
DECEMBER
2.12.
5.12.
NOVEMBER
1.11.
6.12.
Family weekend
Vigeland+Munch
1900–1950
4.11. BabyScream. Guided tour of the exhibition
leave
7.11. YoungScream. Let’s make sculpture.
Workshop for children 7–12 years old.
Max. 20 children
8.11. Family tour of the exhibition
Vigeland+Munch
Vigeland+Munch
1900–1950
12.–13. Munch, Modernism and Modernity
Conference: Revisiting the Surface
Vigeland+Munch
12.12.
13.12.
20.12.
27.12.
leave
Vigeland+Munch
1900–1950
Commemoration of Edvard Munch’s
birthday (b. 12.12.1863). The public is
invited to mulled wine and free admission
to the exhibition Vigeland+Munch
Vår Frelsers Gravlund (Our Saviour’s
Cemetery): Memorial laying of wreath and
lighting of candle at Edvard Munch’s grave
Vigeland+Munch
Vigeland+Munch
Last day of the exhibitions Into the
1900–1950
1900–1950
Vigeland+Munch
Vigeland+Munch
The calendar may be subject to change.
For updated and complete information about the events:
munchmuseet.no
73
THE MUN CH MUSEUM
VISITOR INFORMATION
THE MUNCH MUSEUM
Opening Hours
Ticket Prices
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday,
Saturday and Sunday: 10–16
Tuesday: Closed
Adults: NOK 100
The exhibition Van Gogh+Munch: NOK 120
Seniors (67), students,
groups of more than 10 persons: NOK 60
Free entry for children under the age of 18
Period Closed
5–30 January
Visiting Address:
Summer Season
1 June–30 September. Every day: 10–17
Religious and Public Holidays
Tøyengata 53, 0578 Oslo
Telephone: (+47) 23 49 35 00
E-mail: info.munch@munchmuseet.no
Closed on the following dates: 1 January, 1 May,
17 May, 23–26 December, 31 December
Opening Hours
Ticket Prices
Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday,
Saturday, Sunday: 11–16
Thursday: 11–18
Monday: Closed
Adults: NOK 60 Seniors (67), students,
groups of more than 10 persons: NOK 40 Free entry for children under the age of 18
Periods Closed
Visiting Address:
15 December 2014–6 February
22 June–17 September
Closed from 14 December
Munkedamsveien 15, 0250 Oslo
Telephone: (+47) 23 49 36 00
E-mail: info.stenersen@munchmuseet.no
Religious and Public Holidays
Closed on the following dates: 1 January, 2 April
(Maundy Thursday), 3 April (Good Friday),
6 April (Easter Monday), 1 May, 17 May,
25 May (Whit Monday), 23–26 December,
31 December
stenersenmuseet.no
munchmuseet.no
Det Kongelige Slott
Akerselva
Botanisk hage
Tøyenparken
Nationalteatret T
THE MUNCH MUSEUM
Stortinget T
Tøyen T
Jernbanetorget T
Grønland T
Illustration: Melkeveien Designkontor as
74
THE MUN CH MUSEUM
SPONSORS AND PARTNERS
Bergesenstiftelsen
Partners:
Main sponsors:
Aschehoug Publishers, Oslo
Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art, Oslo
Backstage and Tine Thing Helseth, Oslo
Bjarne Melgaard Studio, New York
Bergesenstiftelsen
Cappelen Damm Publishers, Oslo
Chu Chen Books, Beijing
Color Line, Oslo
Sponsor of the Munch Museum’s Membership
Programme and International Activities:
Deloitte Norway, Oslo
Didrichsen Art Museum, Helsinki
Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris
Hatje Cantz Publishers, Ostfildern/Berlin
Herreros Arquitectos, Madrid
KODE – The Art Museums of Bergen
Sponsor of The Edvard Munch Art Award:
Lens Magazine, Beijing
LPO Arkitekter, Oslo
Mercatorfonds, Brussels
Ministry of Culture, Government of the Republic of India, New Delhi
Munch Communities: Fredrikstad, Horten, Kragerø, Løten, Moss,
Vestby and Vågå
Benefactors:
Musée d’Orsay, Paris
Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid
National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Oslo
Norwegian Consulate General, New York
Norwegian Ministry of Culture, Oslo
Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Oslo
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra
Pax Publishers, Oslo
AS Scenario Interior Architects, Oslo
Skira, Milan
Snøhetta, Oslo
Stiftelsen Edvard Munchs Atelier, Oslo
Thon Hotels, Oslo
Contributors:
University of Oslo
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
Vigeland Museum, Oslo
VisitOslo
Øya Music Festival, Oslo
ÅF Advansia Norway, Oslo
75
MEMBERSHIP CLUB
Edvard Munch: The Sun 1911 University of Oslo Aula,
Oslo © Munch Museum / Munch-Ellingsen Group / BONO 2014 Photo © Munch Museum
INTERESTED IN ART?
As a member of our club you can enjoy a number of benefits
– both at the Munch Museum and the Stenersen Museum, among them:
• Free priority admission
• Invitations to exhibition openings and exclusive events for members only
• Free admission to the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Denmark
Order your membership at: munchmuseet.no
Sponsor

van gogh+munch

Transcription

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