Edvard Munch: Color in Context

National Gallery of Art
September 3, 2017, through January 28, 2018

In the second half of the 19th century, advances in physics, electromagnetic radiation theory, and the optical sciences provoked new thought about the physical as well as the spiritual worlds. Aspects of that thought are revealed in Edvard Munch: Color in Context, an exhibition of 21 prints that considers the choice, combinations, and meaning of color in light of spiritualist principles. Informed by popular manuals that explained the science of color and by theosophical writings on the visual and physical power of color, Edvard Munch (1863–1944) created works that are not just strikingly personal but also are charged with specific associations. Edvard Munch will be on view in the West Building from September 3, 2017, through January 28, 2018.

The majority of the prints in the exhibition come from the Epstein Family Collection, the largest and finest gathering of the artist's graphic work outside of his native Norway. Their holdings are being steadily donated to the Gallery.

"We are indebted to the Epstein family for their extraordinary commitment to the Gallery and to the understanding of Edvard Munch's art," said Earl A. Powell III, director, National Gallery of Art. "It is an honor to dedicate this exhibition to the memory of Lionel Epstein, who passed away earlier this year."

The Gallery has presented seven exhibitions on Munch: Woodcuts, Lithographs, and Etchings from Paul Gauguin and Edvard Munch (1947); Prints by Edvard Munch from the Rosenwald Collection (1972); "The Sick Girl" by Edvard Munch (1975); Edvard Munch: Symbols and Images (1978); Edvard Munch: Master Prints from the Epstein Family Collection (1990); Edvard Munch: Master Prints (2010); and Edvard Munch: A 150th Anniversary Tribute (2013).

 The exhibition is organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington.

Early in his life, Munch was exposed to spiritualism and aural concepts that became popular on an international scale at the end of the 19th century. His childhood vicar was the well-known spiritualist Reverend E. F. B. Horn. Additionally, as a young artist in Oslo, Norway, Munch would meet his friends directly across the street from traveling medium A. Stojohann's "Scientific Public Library." Given such exposure, Munch would have been open to the notion of spiritual power, four-dimensional planes, and invisible forces. It is known that he believed he could see energies radiating from specific colors.

Many of Munch's contemporaries, including Paul Gauguin (1848–1903), Maurice Denis (1870–1943), and Odilon Redon (1840–1916), were well aware of these new philosophies, and their work bears some general relation to them. In Munch's use of color, which intensified psychological and expressive meaning, the correlation with theosophical theories and ideas is specific.

The exhibition is curated by Jonathan Bober, Andrew W. Mellon Senior Curator of Prints and Drawings, and Mollie Berger, curatorial assistant in the department of prints and drawings, National Gallery of Art.

Edvard Munch

Self-Portrait, 1895

lithograph

sheet: 45.6 x 31.5 cm (17 15/16 x 12 3/8 in.)

National Gallery of Art, Washington, Rosenwald Collection

Edvard Munch

Melancholy III (Evening; On the Beach), 1901

color woodcut

framed: 70.17 x 80.33 x 4.45 cm (27 5/8 x 31 5/8 x 1 3/4 in.)

Epstein Family Collection

Edvard Munch

Melancholy (Woman on the Shore), 1898

color woodcut

framed: 60.01 x 65.09 x 3.18 cm (23 5/8 x 25 5/8 x 1 1/4 in.)

Epstein Family Collection

Edvard Munch

The Sin, 1902

color lithograph from two stones in beige, ochre and green

overall: 69.53 x 40.01 cm (27 3/8 x 15 3/4 in.)

framed: 102.55 x 69.22 x 3.97 cm (40 3/8 x 27 1/4 x 1 9/16 in.)

Epstein Family Collection

Edvard Munch

The Vampire (Vampyr), 1895

color lithograph and woodcut with watercolor [trial proof]

sheet: 38.9 x 55.7 cm (15 5/16 x 21 15/16 in.)

National Gallery of Art, Washington, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund and Gift of Lionel C. Epstein

Edvard Munch

Anxiety, 1896

color lithograph printed in black and red

overall: 41.28 x 38.74 cm (16 1/4 x 15 1/4 in.)

Epstein Family Collection

Edvard Munch

Moonlight I, 1896

color woodcut

overall: 41.2 x 47.5 cm (16 1/4 x 18 11/16 in.)

framed: 70.96 x 76.99 x 3.81 cm (27 15/16 x 30 5/16 x 1 1/2 in.)

Epstein Family Collection

Edvard Munch

Girl's Head Against the Shore, 1899

color woodcut

framed: 78.11 x 67.63 x 3.49 cm (30 3/4 x 26 5/8 x 1 3/8 in.)

Epstein Family Collection

Edvard Munch

Man's Head in Woman's Hair (Mannerkopf in Frauenharr), 1896

color woodcut

sheet: 55.9 x 38.8 cm (22 x 15 1/4 in.)

National Gallery of Art, Washington, Rosenwald Collection

Edvard Munch

The Kiss in the Field, 1943

woodcut printed in red-brown with watercolor on wove paper

block: 40.4 x 49 cm (15 7/8 x 19 5/16 in.)

overall: 53.8 x 64.1 cm (21 3/16 x 25 1/4 in.)

National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Ruth Cole Kainen

Edvard Munch

Madonna, 1895, printed 1913/1914

color lithograph

overall: 60.01 x 44.13 cm (23 5/8 x 17 3/8 in.)

National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of The Epstein Family Collection

Edvard Munch

Old Man Praying, 1902

color woodcut

framed: 84.46 x 64.14 x 3.81 cm (33 1/4 x 25 1/4 x 1 1/2 in.)

Epstein Family Collection

Edvard Munch

Encounter in Space, 1902

etching and aquatint

framed: 64.61 x 55.56 x 2.7 cm (25 7/16 x 21 7/8 x 1 1/16 in.)

Epstein Family Collection

Edvard Munch

Head by Head, 1905

color woodcut

framed: 68.58 x 84.14 x 3.18 cm (27 x 33 1/8 x 1 1/4 in.)

Epstein Family Collection