Julius Meier-Graefe

The portrait was painted during Munch's stay in Berlin in 1894--95. The contrast between the plasticity of the face and the rough background is typical of Munch's portraits of this period. The distinctive top hat, beard and moustache indicate a modern lifestyle and urban fashion. This is one of several half-length portraits of friends and colleagues that Munch painted in the mid-1890s. His interest in the genre can be traced back to the art circles he frequented in Kristiania in the 1880s.

Around the time the picture was painted, Meier-Graefe (1867--1935) was active as a writer who was deeply immersed in Berlin's radical art scene. He had recently helped to launch the journal PAN, for which he also occasionally worked as editor. He came in contact with Munch via a broader community of intellectuals, artists and writers that included August Strindberg, Stanisław Przybyszewski and Dagny Juel. Meier-Graefe eventually forged a reputation as a major critic and connoisseur of modern art. His first writings were about Munch's work, and he contributed to the first monograph: Das Werk des Edvard Munch (1894). He also initiated the first portfolio of prints by the artist.

Meier-Graefe had a keen interest in contemporary French art. In 1895 he moved to Paris, where, as director of the gallery La Maison Moderne, and later as editor of the journal Dekorative Kunst, he spread the ideas of the art nouveau movement and its associated crafts. He was an important contact for Munch in Paris during these years, introducing the artist to gallery owners and others in the art community, such as Siegfried Bing, the man behind the Maison de l'Art Nouveau gallery. Later, Meier-Graefe moved back to Berlin, where in 1904 he published the three-volume Die Entwicklungsgeschichte der modernen Kunst, the first comprehensive presentation of modern, controversial art in Europe around 1900. In the first edition, Munch was discussed in a lengthy chapter together with Vincent van Gogh.

Although the portrait has been dated to 1895, it is mentioned in Morgenbladet as early as 1 May 1894. It was owned by Meier-Graefe until 1912, when he donated it to the National Gallery.

Øystein Ustvedt

The text was first published in Edvard Munch in the National Museum. A comprehensive overview (Oslo: National Museum, 2022).

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