Edvard Munch: Trembling Earth

Edvard Munch, The Sun, 1912, Munchmuseet, Oslo, Norway. MM.M.00822

Edvard Munch: Trembling Earth is the first exhibition in the United States to consider how the noted Norwegian artist Edvard Munch (1863–1944) employed nature to convey meaning in his art. Munch is regarded primarily as a figure painter, and his most celebrated images (including his iconic The Scream) are connected to themes of love, anxiety, longing, and death. Yet, landscape plays an essential role in a large portion of Munch’s work. The exhibition considers this important, but less explored, aspect of the artist’s career.

Organized thematically, the exhibition sets out to show how Munch used nature to convey human emotions and relationships, celebrate farming practice and garden cultivation, and explore the mysteries of the forest even as his Norwegian homeland faced industrialization. It features over seventy-five objects, ranging from brilliantly hued landscapes and three stunning self-portraits, to an extensive selection of his innovative prints and drawings, including a lithograph of Munch's most celebrated work, The Scream. The exhibition includes more than thirty works from the Munchmuseet’s world-renowned collection, major pieces from other museums in the USA and Europe, and nearly forty paintings and prints from private collections, many of which are rarely exhibited.