Edvard Munch: Masterpieces from Bergen exhibition review
This must-see show features 18 paintings covering a crucial period when Munch’s work shifted markedly
In the UK, we tend to think of Edvard Munch (1863-1944) as a master of “existential angst”, said Florence Hallett in The i Paper. Yet as this exhibition at the Courtauld Gallery makes clear, that characterisation is only half right. Featuring 18 paintings on loan from a major collection of Munch’s work in Bergen, in his native Norway, it covers a crucial period, in the 1880s and 1890s, when his work shifted from dalliances with French impressionism to “the sparse, vibrant” portraits that have come to define him. These works – most of which have never been seen in Britain before – reveal that Munch was a resourceful artist, adept at capturing both “emotional intensity” and “the eerie, magical quality of Norwegian light”.
It’s “fascinating” to see how indebted Munch was to the French painters whose work is so well-represented at the Courtauld, said Jackie Wullschläger in the FT. Spring Day on Karl Johan Street (1890), which he painted after a visit to Paris, is a pointillist depiction of Oslo’s main thoroughfare on a sunny morning; the crowd is depicted as bright flecks, and its palette could almost belong to Seurat. Yet two years later, in Evening on Karl Johan Street, we see the same boulevard in dramatically different style. Dark figures loom forward, their faces like “pale masks”, their “button eyes” gazing straight at us through a haze of artificial light. This “breakthrough” painting paved the way for later “tormented” visions such as At the Deathbed (1895), inspired by his memories of his sister’s death from tuberculosis. Dark figures surround the bed, their pain and grief conveyed by “white or burning faces”, and hands that are “clenched, or gripping the bed, or in prayer”.
There is something spectacular in Munch’s depictions of “human misery”, said Laura Cumming in The Observer. Yet he was capable of subtlety, too. The paintings inspired by visits to his seaside home are transfixing: in Inger on the Beach (1889), we see his sister seated “among glowing rocks on the shore, her white dress incandescent in the gloaming”; and in Moonlight on the Beach (1892), five moons hang down, illuminating the scene “like a string of jewels”. Other works force one to marvel at Munch’s “extraordinary technique”, with his “lustrous pearl and silver strokes”, “insistent whorls”, and “seeping stains and haloed heads”. In his work, hair “takes on a life of its own”, while figures march straight out from the canvas. Perhaps strangest of all, in this must-see show, is a self-portrait he made in 1909 after having a breakdown: against a chaotic backdrop, the artist sits “upright and composed in a neat three-piece suit”. It’s “electrifying”.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Courtauld Gallery, London WC2 (020-3947 7711, courtauld.ac.uk). Until 4 September
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Nigeria's worsening rate of maternal mortality
Under the radar Economic crisis is making hospitals unaffordable, with women increasingly not receiving the care they need
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Elevating Earth Day into a national holiday is not radical — it's practical'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
UAW scores historic win in South at VW plant
Speed Read Volkswagen workers in Tennessee have voted to join the United Auto Workers union
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
6 serene homes in Vermont
Features Featuring a four-level Shaker barn in Hartland and a Scandinavian-inspired home in Stowe
By The Week US Published
-
Amanda Montell's 6 favorite books that will expand your knowledge
Feature The linguist recommends works by Mary Roach, Alice Carrière, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Rowan Beaird recommends 6 compelling books from the 1950s
Feature The author recommends works by Patricia Highsmith, Shirley Jackson, and more
By The Week US Published
-
6 spacious homes with great rec rooms
Feature Featuring a suspended fireplace in Arizona and a marine-themed home in Maine
By The Week Published
-
Recipe: gnocchi di spinaci (spinach gnocchi)
The Week Recommends Forget the potatoes for this gnocchi made of the 'classic combination' of spinach and ricotta
By The Week UK Published
-
Stephen Graham Jones' 6 scary books with deeper meanings
Feature The best-selling author recommends works by Stephen King, Sara Gran, and more
By The Week US Published
-
6 stylish homes on the top floor
Feature Featuring a 1925 art deco high-rise in San Francisco and a factory-turned-home in Los Angeles
By The Week US Published
-
The Anxious Generation: US psychologist Jonathan Haidt's 'urgent and essential' new book
The Week Recommends Haidt calls out 'the Great Rewiring of Childhood' phenomenon
By The Week UK Published