Edvard Munch

When Edvard Munch (1863–1944) turned to printmaking in the 1890s, he was – as a painter – already as well-known as he was controversial. The motifs he initially realised in etchings and soon thereafter in lithographs and woodcuts correspond largely with those of his painted works. Condensed and concretised by the print medium, they are nevertheless typical of the Norwegian artist’s imagery, revolving around experiences such as love, jealousy, loneliness and death, but also encompassing portraits of notables of the artist’s time, for example Henrik Ibsen, August Strindberg or Harry Graf Kessler. Within the context of examples by European contemporaries, the exhibition drew from the museum’s own holdings to pay homage to his prints – masterly works of groundbreaking significance with regard to content as well as technique.

CURATOR: Dr. Jutta Schütt, Städel Museum

Edvard Munch in the Digital Collection