Munch. Elizabeth Ingles

      He himself termed it ‘a breakthrough’ in his style, and the collector and critic Jens Thiis, later Munch’s biographer, called it ‘the first monumental figure painting in our Norwegian art’.[1]

      The emphasis on religious piety (which appeared to not do the slightest good, as prayers for the life of mother and sister went unheeded), and the authoritarianism of a father who punished disproportionately for the most minor transgressions, came together in Munch’s mind to give him a view of God as unjust, full of anger, and entirely without compassion. Although he did not dare to contradict his father by refusing to go to church, by the time he was in his early twenties he had reached the conclusion that God did not exist, and that there was no eternity.

      Night in St Cloud

      1890

      Oil on canvas, 64.5 × 54 cm

      Nasjonalgalleriet, Oslo

      The Seine at St Cloud

      1890

      Oil on canvas, 61 × 49.8 cm

      Gift from Mrs Morris Hadley (Katherine Blodgett class of 1920), 1962

      The Frances and Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York

      This belief in the non-existence of God remained broadly unaltered throughout the rest of his life, though he changed his mind about the possibility of a continued existence in a kind of afterlife. With some bravery, Munch took the decision to become a painter in the face of his father’s firm preference that he should study engineering. His father reluctantly acceded, on the advice of a draughtsman friend.

      Melancholy

      1891

      Oil on canvas, 72 × 98 cm

      Private collection

      One of Munch’s earliest self-portraits, from a year or so later (Self-Portrait, 1881–1882), shows a young man of sensitive, even sickly aspect, his large pale face, full curving lips, and sloping shoulders giving little cause to credit him with any kind of physical or mental toughness. Yet there is, in the clear gaze, something of a challenge to the onlooker who might thus dismiss him.

      Woman in Blue against Blue Water

      1891

      Oil on canvas, 99 × 65.5 cm

      Private collection

      After their mother’s death, the children were comforted a little by the advent of her younger sister Karen, who came into the family and took over as housekeeper and governess. She had done some dabbling in painting herself, and quickly came to recognise that Edvard had an unusual talent. Later in life, he greatly valued her encouragement, although at first he did not appreciate it as much as he might.

      Rue de Rivoli

      1891

      Oil on canvas, 81 × 65.1 cm

      Gift from Rudolf Serkin, 1963, Harvard Art Museums

      Fogg Museum, Cambridge, Massachusetts

      A portrait of his aunt painted in 1884 (Karen Bjølstad in a Rocking Chair) goes some way to making amends – the calm young woman is portrayed sitting in the window, gently rocking herself. His portraits of this period are strikingly mature, particularly that of his sister Inger, which reveals a young girl with great strength of character in her sombre, slightly averted gaze (Inger Munch, 1884).

      Melancholy

      1892

      Oil on canvas, 64 × 96 cm

      Nasjonalgalleriet, Oslo

      Norway was an artistic backwater at this time – the few major painters of the period included Christian Krohg, Frits Thaulow, and Erik Werenskiold, who formed the native school, with its keynote of naturalism. They mounted their first Autumn Exhibition in 1882, beginning a regular series that at first met with much critical disapproval.

      Moonlight on the Coast

      1892

      Oil on canvas, 62.5 × 96 cm

      Private collection, Bergen

      Manet was their idol, their lodestar. Munch embraced this group warmly, and in the course of some months was taught how to use colour by Krohg. However, he felt he had to go abroad to gain the stimulus and training he needed. In 1885, he was enabled to go to Paris thanks to the generosity of Thaulow, a frequent supporter, and grants from various bodies.

      Portrait of Inger, the Artist’s Sister

      1892

      Oil on canvas on wood, 172.5 × 122.5 cm

      Nasjonalgalleriet, Oslo

      Thaulow – Gauguin’s brother-in-law, as it happens – not only gave him moral and financial support in the face of critical hostility, but also bought one of his earliest successes, Morning (A Servant Girl) of 1884.

      Before he left for Paris, Munch met the woman who was to cause him perhaps the deepest grief and psychological damage of his emotional life: Emilie (Milly) Thaulow.

      Summer Night / Inger at the Beach

      1889

      Oil on canvas, 126.4 × 161.7 cm

      Rasmus Meyers Collection, Bergen Art Museum, Bergen

      He was now twenty-two; she was twenty-four, married to his cousin Carl, and with no moral scruples about engaging in an adulterous affair. She was beautiful and blonde in a classic Scandinavian way, and admirers flocked round her. She toyed with Munch, who fell heavily for her. At first they enjoyed a lovers’ idyll, but he was unable to retain the interest of this sensual and amoral

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