Munch. Elizabeth Ingles

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 woman for long.

      Evening on Karl Johan Street

      1892

      Oil on canvas, 85.5 × 121 cm

      Rasmus Meyers Collection, Bergen Art Museum, Bergen

      Munch continued to show work at the regular Autumn Exhibitions in Oslo, but the critics took not the slightest notice of his offerings at the 1887 show. Feeling neglected and slighted professionally, he was reduced to a state of deep neurosis when he realised that the experienced Milly was not after all faithful to him.

      The Author August Strindberg