Edvard Munch

Richard Muther (acquired by 1908)

Christie Heiberg (acquired by 1927)

Hessisches Landesmuseum, Darmstadt (acquired in 1929)

Carl Neumann, Barmen (acquired from the above on de-accession June 24, 1937)

Sale: City Auksjon, Oslo, January 19, 1939, lot 9

Overrettssakfører Eckhoff, Oslo (acquired in 1939)

Leif Høegh, Oslo

Kristiania, Blomqvist Kunsthandel, Edvard Munchs udstilling, 1903, no. 27

Breslau, Franz Hancke, Wäschetrockenplatz, 1908

Oslo, Nasjonalgalleriet, Edvard Munch, 1927, no. 112 (titled Klaedesvask)

Modum, Blaafarvevaerket, Sommeren med Edvard Munch og Arne Kavli, 1999, no. 24, illustrated in color in the catalogue

Paris, Pinacothèque de Paris, Edvard Munch ou l'"Anti-Cri", 2010, no. 41, illustrated in color in the catalogue

Gerd Woll, Edvard Munch, Complete Paintings, 1898-1908, vol. II, London, 2009, no. 529, illustrated p. 563

This work is in excellent condition. Original canvas. Surface is clean. Under UV light, 1½ inch area of inpainting in center of the sky and a hair line of inpainting 5 inches long in the sky at left, otherwise fine.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Munch first visited Åsgårdstrand, a resort a few miles to the south of Oslo, in autumn of 1888. He took a holiday residence there in the summer of 1889, which he rented for some years until he purchased a house in 1897. In the following years, Munch travelled widely across Europe, making extended visits to Berlin, Paris and Hamburg, but often returned to Åsgårdstrand during the summer months. He painted some of his finest landscapes there, characterized by his expressive winding line and strong, vivid colors.

In Klestørk i Åsgårdstrand, Munch depicts a domestic scene, elevating a routine task to a swirl of brilliant colors. This subjet matter reveals the influence of Vincent van Gogh's early works of which the artist was certainly aware from having seen exhibitions of his work in Paris (fig. 1). The subtler expressionism of van Gogh's early works is transformed into an explosive scene in Munch's interpretation. 

Munch himself considered the early years of the twentieth century some of the most difficult, yet most productive ones of his career. His emphasis during this time transitioned from the interior scenes with narrative to outdoor scenes that embraced a new sense of abstraction and liberated color. This shift of focus, however, did not signify a departure from his earlier obsession with tormented, angst-ridden individuals. On the contrary, it was precisely this emotional and mental instability that gave the artist the insight to produce such masterpieces as the present work, in which he reached a certain level of abstraction, expressing the joys and anxieties of the human condition through the pictorial elements of color and form. Klestørk i Åsgårdstrand throbs with a sense of movement that is particular to his works from Åsgårdstrand while the ghostlike, haunting presence of the figure harkens back to Munch's existential imagery from the 1890's.

Munch's works of this period had a strong influence on German Expressionist painters, who had the opportunity to see his works in several exhibitions in Germany between 1905 and 1908. The brilliant, wild palette that dominated Munch's canvases had a powerful impact on the Die Brücke artists who were eager to move away from their urban surroundings in Berlin and other cities, and to embrace the more 'primitive' life-style and wild nature of the northern German coast. It was the daring, expressive power of Munch's landscapes, pulsating with undulating lines and vivid, dramatic brush-strokes, that had such a profound effect on some of the major figures of twentieth century art including Kirchner, Schmidt-Rottluff, Pechstein and Heckel.