Edvard Munch [antikvár]

Munch's Artistic Background: Christiania Paris, Berlin Those who go to Oslo and seek out the work of Edvard Munch will find that one of the clearest impressions they can gain of the Norwegian artist's work is a painting that was done in 1895, probably in Berlin, and which now hangs in the central room of the sky-lit gallery in the National Gallery. The painting is the Self-Poitiait with Burning Cigarette (p. 6). A comparison of this work with the 1885 Portrait of the Painter Gerhard Munthe (p. 7), also in the National Gallery and done by Munch's teacher, Christian Krohg (1852-1925), is instructive. The comparison immediately makes clear how far Edvard Munch's artistic travels had already taken him, in just fifteen years, from his Norwegian beginnings. Christian Krohg, eleven years Munch's senior, was arguably the major artistic force in Norway before the younger painter made his name. His significance in Scandinavia was comparable with that of Max Liebermann in Germany. Educated and trained in Karlsruhe and Berlin, Krohg subsequently became one of the leaders of Scandinavia's foremost artists' colony in Skagen, at the northern tip of Jutland. With the assistance of the painter Frits Thaulow, Krohg spent the winter of 1881-82 in Paris, where Edouard Manet's wonderful figure portraits made a particularly powerful impression on him - as they were to do on Munch a few years later. That Parisian sojourn resulted in portraits of colleagues and friends, painted in the years following 1882. The portrait of Gerhard Munthe provides a particularly apt basis for comparison with Munch. The scene is a smoky café, suggested by small round tables where artists and literati are sitting. Krohg's fellow-artist and friend from student days Gerhard Munthe (1849-1929) is shown three-quarter length, wearing an elegant greyish black coat that stands out with subtly calculated emphasis against the brown colouring of the background. Krohg focusses on a precise presentation of the milieu and of this mildly arrogant artistic dandy. His painting and compositional techniques are subordinated to the naturalistic portrayal of an eccentric amidst the urbane atmosphere of everyday city life. Figurative clarity diminishes in the background, while the foregrounded section is Christian Krohg: Portrait of the Painter Gerhard Munthe, 1885 Oil on canvas, 150 x 115 cm National Gallery, Oslo Self-portrait with Burning Cigarette, 1895 Oil on canvas, 110.5 x 85.5 cm National Gallery, Oslo