Collection Online as of June 2, 2023
Evening, Melancholy I
Edvard Munch
(Norwegian, 1863–1944)
Woodcut hand colored with watercolor
Image: 37.7 x 45 cm (14 13/16 x 17 11/16 in.)
Gift of Mrs. Clive Runnels in memory of Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. 1959.82
Catalogue raisonné: Not Schiefler 82, unique impression
Location
not on view
Description
Evening, Melancholy I depicts the jilted, tormented art critic Jappe Nilssen, Munch's friend, on the shore of Åsgårdstrand, a fishing village south of Oslo. Munch chose heavily grained blocks of wood, allowing the pattern of the board to add texture to the scene, and he exploited the handmade aspect of the technique by carving blocks crudely. He also experimented so that each impression is unique, using black ink on the woodblock and watercolor and gouache to color the sheet extensively. An example of how method can reinforce meaning, the simplified shapes, flattened space, and dark hues create a visual correspondence to the figure's deep depression.