Edited with text by Alison Smith. Text by Knut Ljøgodt.
Portraits by and of Munch offer insight into the vibrant bohemian world of one of the great artists of the 19th and 20th centuries
Norwegian painter Edvard Munch (1863–1944), whose 1893 work The Scream has become one of Western art’s most acclaimed images and who is widely regarded as one of the great artists of the 19th and 20th centuries, is less known for his portraiture—but his portraits are central to his art and vision. Edvard Munch Portraits, edited by Alison Smith, former chief curator at London’s National Portrait Gallery, brings together more than 60 of Munch’s most significant portraits, showcasing the wide array of styles, techniques and mediums that he employed. During the course of Munch’s long life, and working in a range of mediums that encompassed painting, drawing and print, he made hundreds of portraits of friends, patrons, models and, above all and unsparingly, himself. This book places his work in the cultural and historical background of his period, providing readers with a greater understanding of the time in which these portraits were produced. This publication offers deep insight into the artist’s family and bohemian social circles, along with his German and Norwegian patrons and the friends who helped establish his reputation.
PRAISE AND REVIEWS
The New Statesman
Michael Prodger
Highlights psychological complexity.
STATUS: Forthcoming | 4/29/2025
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Published by National Portrait Gallery. Edited with text by Alison Smith. Text by Knut Ljøgodt.
Portraits by and of Munch offer insight into the vibrant bohemian world of one of the great artists of the 19th and 20th centuries
Norwegian painter Edvard Munch (1863–1944), whose 1893 work The Scream has become one of Western art’s most acclaimed images and who is widely regarded as one of the great artists of the 19th and 20th centuries, is less known for his portraiture—but his portraits are central to his art and vision. Edvard Munch Portraits, edited by Alison Smith, former chief curator at London’s National Portrait Gallery, brings together more than 60 of Munch’s most significant portraits, showcasing the wide array of styles, techniques and mediums that he employed.
During the course of Munch’s long life, and working in a range of mediums that encompassed painting, drawing and print, he made hundreds of portraits of friends, patrons, models and, above all and unsparingly, himself. This book places his work in the cultural and historical background of his period, providing readers with a greater understanding of the time in which these portraits were produced. This publication offers deep insight into the artist’s family and bohemian social circles, along with his German and Norwegian patrons and the friends who helped establish his reputation.
