Munch's Laboratory. The Path to the Aula

The exhibition Munch's Laboratory. The Path to the Aula is the Munch Museum's (Norway contribution to the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the University of Oslo. The chancellor of the University, Waldemar Christian Brøgger, had great ambitions, a few years after the dissolution of the union with Sweden in 1905.

The plans included a new festival hall with monumental decorations. Munchs was interested in such a task but in 1909 when the decoration competition was announced, he was not among the invited artists. He started work yet with his first ideas and managed to position himself as a participant. But after a long and exciting process Munch won the competition in 1914, and in 1916 he was able to install the experimental, expressionist monumental paintings in the Aula. Through the long process Munch produced over 144 paintings on canvas, many in monumental size and a number of works on paper.

The exhibition provides a unique opportunity to look at Munch's technique and methods of working. Other artists of Munch's generation, as for example Gustav Klimt, Puvis de Chavannes and Max Klinger also chose to work for institutions such as universities, museums, libraries, and also met the challenge of creating images understandable to a wider audience.

Date: from September 4, 2011 to January 9, 2012.
Place: The Munch Museum. Tøyengata, 53. 0578. Oslo. Norway.
Opening hours:
From May 6 to May 31 and from September 4 to December 30: Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 10am to 9pm. Friday from 10am to 4pm. Saturday from 11am to 5pm.
From June 1 to August 21: from Monday to Friday from 10am to 9pm. Saturday from 11am to 5pm. Sunday from 11am to 9pm.