Munch first visited the coastal resort of Åsgårdstrand in the summer of 1885, aged 22. That summer, the young Munch started a romantic relationship with Milly Thaulow, who is portrayed as Mrs Heiberg in many of his literary texts. The experience made a lasting impression on him and many of the love-related subjects in his picture series The Frieze of Life were inspired by his sojourns at Åsgårdstrand and actually painted there during his stays.
Between 1889 and 1905, Munch spent almost every summer in the picturesque little town; first in a rented house and, from 1898, in his own home. Later in life, he described this house, in which he experienced so many productive periods and dramatic episodes, as “the only pleasant house I have ever lived in”. After his death, the local municipality bought the property from his sister Inger and opened it as a museum in 1947. Today, Munch’s House is the only important place of his to have been preserved.
The exhibition comprises 34 works, of which almost half are paintings, some in large formats. The prints are from the 1890s when he was at his most innovative in this field, while many of the paintings are later versions of his most significant works. All the pictures are on loan from the Munch Museum, which has been a major contributor to the exhibition. The exhibition also marks the starting point of the national celebration of Munch’s 150th anniversary in 2013 and will be travelling to the Lillehammer Art Museum later in the autumn.
An accompanying book of the same title will be published by Labyrinth Press. The contributors are Ingebjørg Ydstie and Mai Britt Guleng, both curators at the Munch Museum, Professor of Art History, Øivind Storm Bjerke and Art Historian, Hans-Martin Frydenberg Flaatten, who will be publishing the first chronological overview of Munch’s life and work in Åsgårdstrand. Also included will be a key text by Munch himself describing some of his experiences with “Mrs Heiberg”.
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