Early spring
(1903-1905)
- Medium
- oil on canvas
- Measurements
- 70.8 × 44.8 cm
- Place/s of Execution
- Åsgårstrand, Norway
- Department
- International Painting
- Credit Line
- John William Fawcett Bequest, Angela Glover Bequest and with funds donated by Carol Sisson, 2025
- Gallery location
- Late 19th & early 20th Century Paintings & Decorative Arts Gallery
Level 2, NGV International - About this work
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Edvard Munch is one of the most admired artists of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, noted for his uniquely personal style and as a pioneer of Expressionism. His art was deeply informed by his own experiences yet retains a universality in its reflection of the human condition. This work was painted shortly after Munch left Kristiania (Oslo) to live and work Åsgårdstrand, a coastal town whose hinterland features a densely wooded and dramatically atmospheric forest. This is reflected here as the lone birch tree stands isolated as if in defiance of the encroaching verdant forest. The work is related to Munch’s famed Cathedral Series.