Edvard Munch: Graphic works

A private collection of lithographs and woodcuts by the celebrated Norwegian artist Edvard Munch is shown in the UK for the first time this spring at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art.

Edvard Munch: Graphic Works from The Gundersen Collection features over fifty of Munch’s most important prints including a number of unique, hand-coloured impressions by the artist, among them an extraordinary version of the world-famous The Scream. This rare work is one of only two hand-coloured versions of the iconic print – the other is held in the Munch Museum, Oslo.

Pål Georg Gundersen was inspired to build his collection following his encounter with the artist’s painting The Sick Child in the National Gallery of Norway and several impressions of the related print are included in the show in Edinburgh. By focusing on prints, the Gundersen collection introduces the intensity and directness of Munch’s work and provides an insight into his pioneering exploration of universal concerns that made him one of the most influential artists of his day.

Graphic Works from the Gundersen Collection draws out the themes of love, human relationships, death, melancholy and anxiety that preoccupied Munch throughout his career. Through multiple versions of many of the images, the exhibition investigates Munch’s rigorous experimentation as he revisited and reworked subjects to heighten their emotive impact and to explore colour, texture and techniques.

This collection shows the working processes behind some of the most startling and iconic images of the late 19th and early 20th century. For example, visitors will be able to compare three different versions of Madonna and five examples of Vampire II.

Date: until September 23.
Location: Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. The Mound, Edinburgh EH2 2EL, United Kingdom.
Opening hours: from Monday to Sunday from 10am to 5pm.

See other artworks by Munch in our gallery devoted to Great Masters