From Vestre Aker

A sense of spring hangs over the landscape. The snow has melted, the ground has a blush of green, and the trees are coming into leaf. This little painting was done shortly after Munch resolved to become a painter. It was done during a study trip to the north-west outskirts of Kristiania, in the region of Vestre Aker, Nordmarka. In the spring of 1881, Munch attended evening classes at the Royal School of Design (Tegneskolen), where he was accepted as a student the following autumn. In the spring and summer of 1881, he made several trips to the Nordmarka area, sometimes alone, sometimes with other young artists, such as Gustav Lærum, Henning Kloumann, and Jørgen Sørensen. A fair number of drawings from these excursions have survived, including several from a lengthier trip to Hakloa, which may have been the context for this work (The Munch Museum, MM.T.02869; MM.T.00093). The National Museum's collection also contains a drawing from Bygdøy from around the same time (NG.K&H.1953.0004).

From Vestre Aker is one of the earliest paintings by Munch that we know of. The format of its dating (13/5--81) is unusual and possibly even unique in Munch's oeuvre. For most artists, it was, however, common practice to date smaller paintings executed in situ, as this one was.

In the 1880s, Kristiania's younger artists were exploring their local surroundings as a source of material more than their predecessors had done. It has not been possible to identify the location with greater precision. But the sober, lucidly depicted scene with its pale palette and precise dating indicate an interest in meticulous study of the world as perceived and naturalistic outdoor painting.

The year of the picture's creation and its connection to specific persons is recorded on the back: "Fra Vestre Aker Edv. Munch 1881 Inger Munch og Karen Biölstad" (From Vestre Aker Edv. Munch 1881 Inger Munch and Karen Bjølstad). The picture was acquired for the collection in 1958.

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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• Woll, Gerd. Edvard Munch: Samlede malerier: B. 1: 1880-1897. Oslo: Cappelen Damm, 2008. kat.nr. 17.
• Czymmek, Götz. «Edvard Munchs Weg zur symbolistischen Landschaft», i «Landschaft als Kosmos der Seele. Malerei des nordischen Symbolismus bis Munch 1880-1910», utstillingskatalog, 1998. 69.
• Nasjonalgalleriet, red. Norske malerier. Katalog. Oslo, 1992. 334.
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