Edvard Munch: Masterpieces from Bergen

Surprising exhibition at the Courtauld Gallery of work by Edvard Munch collected by Rasmus Meyer.

I say surprising as often I have come out of Munch exhibitions with a sense of gloom but this show had a number of cheerful pictures! Meyer was an early collector of Munch’s work and so there was a fascinating selection of his early work which was quite impressionistic and colourful. “Spring Day on Karl Johan” from 1890 was an almost pointillist work with ethereal figures.

We then moved onto some of the more experimental works for Munch proposed projects called “The Frieze”. Meyer recognised the importance of this idea and bought a number of the works which were here. There was also another picture of Karl Johan Street from 1892 which was very different to the earlier one. In this he records felling emotionally overwhelmed by a crowd.

The final section showed later works following a nervous breakdown in 1908 which were shockingly different as they were cheerful and bright again! These included a wonderful self-portrait and this picture of a young boy on the beach which I would never have guessed was a Munch.

Closes 4 September 2022

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