Artists

Edvard Munch

Press release

Widely regarded as one of the great portraitists of the 19th and 20th centuries, Edvard Munch consistently produced intimate portraits of family, friends, lovers, writers, artists, patrons and collectors, together with an extraordinary range of self-portraits. With energetic brushstrokes, bold colour and a direct sense of engagement with the sitter, these works have had a strong influence on the portrait genre.

Edvard Munch Portraits will be the first exhibition in the UK to focus on this important, but sometimes overlooked, aspect of the artist’s work. The exhibition will show how Munch painted portraits as commissions and for personal reasons, with many pictures doubling up as icons or examples of the human condition despite being based on the direct observation of named individuals.