Edvard Munch
In a small seaside town in Norway, Edvard Munch might have seen a scene that he later turned into a famous painting. Imagine a summer night in Åsgårdstrand, where three girls are standing on a wooden pier. Two of them, lost in thought, are peering down into the water. The third girl, standing out in her white dress, has her back to the water and is looking off into the distance, her yellow straw hat in her hand.
Munch spent many summers in this growing resort town starting in 1889, even buying a simple fisherman's house there in 1898. He was drawn to this scene of the girls on the jetty and painted it several times, using it to explore ideas about femininity and his own feelings about the world.
Munch painted a couple of versions of this scene. Here, he focuses on the girls themselves. The tree is just a dark shadow in the water, reflecting the girls' introspective mood. The railing of the pier leads your eye into the painting, pulling you into the scene. Munch wasn't just showing us a physical place; he was painting a picture of an inner, emotional world.
What do you feel when you are looking at this masterpiece? Take a moment to observe this painting and try to focus on what you can actually see and how it impacts you. If you need some guidance, check out our free online course on How to Look at Art. :)
P.S. Did you know Edvard Munch was fascinated by amateur photography? Explore Munch's unique photos!