- 29
Edvard Munch
Estimate
120,000 - 180,000 GBP
bidding is closed
Description
- Edvard Munch
- Garden with Red House
- signed and dated E. Munch 82 lower right
- oil on board
- 23 by 30.5cm., 9 by 12in.
Provenance
Sverre Bryde, Oslo (by 1951)
Blomqvist Kunsthandel, Oslo
Berit Solberg (between 1972-81)
Sale: Sotheby's, London, 2 April 1981, lot 338
Stanley J. Seeger (purchased at the above sale); (sale: Sotheby's, London, 27 June 2007, lot 363)
Acquired by the present owner in Oslo circa 2007
Blomqvist Kunsthandel, Oslo
Berit Solberg (between 1972-81)
Sale: Sotheby's, London, 2 April 1981, lot 338
Stanley J. Seeger (purchased at the above sale); (sale: Sotheby's, London, 27 June 2007, lot 363)
Acquired by the present owner in Oslo circa 2007
Exhibited
Oslo, Kunstnernes Hus, Edvard Munch Utstilling: Malerier Akvareller, Grafikk, 1951, no. 21
Künzelsau, Kunsthalle Würth, Sammlung Würth, 2007
Oslo, Munch Museum, Munch blir Munch, 2009
Paris, Pinacothèque, Edvard Munch ou 'l'Anti-Cri', 2010
Rotterdam, Kunsthal, Edvard Munch, 2010-2011
Künzelsau, Kunsthalle Würth, Sammlung Würth, 2007
Oslo, Munch Museum, Munch blir Munch, 2009
Paris, Pinacothèque, Edvard Munch ou 'l'Anti-Cri', 2010
Rotterdam, Kunsthal, Edvard Munch, 2010-2011
Literature
Gerd Woll, Edvard Munch: Complete Paintings, 2008, vol. I, p. 86, no. 61, catalogued & illustrated
Condition
The board is flat and even. As visible in the catalogue illustration, there are fine lines of craquelure, visible notably in the upper right quadrant. Ultraviolet light reveals some spots of retouching in the lower left and upper right corners, a tiny thin line addressing a spot of craquelure in the foliage in the upper centre, and addressing frame rubbing along spots of the extreme edges. Overall this work is in good original condition.
Held in a modern gilt frame, with a cloth inner slip.
The colours are deeper overall than in the catalogue illustration, notably the light greens in the centre of the composition.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
Catalogue Note
Painted in the summer of 1882, when the artist was visiting his friend Bjarne Falk at Hedmark, the present work is the most strikingly colourful of a series of work depicting the garden of a house in Hedmark.
In his diary entry of 8 November 1880, Munch had vowed to leave the Technical School in Kristiania (now Oslo) at which he had been studying, and become an artist. His plans initially met with some disapproval, not least from his father Christian who compared the life of an artist to living in a brothel. Early on Munch showed a distaste for the art of the past, commenting on the slick, highly finished academic paintings and radically declaring 'there must be no more pictures covered in brown sauce'.
As well as Munch's delight in employing a strong colouristic palette in the present work, the abandoned desk and old school bench in the undergrowth in the foreground express his equal pleasure in leaving his studies behind him, and reflect the sense of liberation he felt as a young painter forging his career.
In his diary entry of 8 November 1880, Munch had vowed to leave the Technical School in Kristiania (now Oslo) at which he had been studying, and become an artist. His plans initially met with some disapproval, not least from his father Christian who compared the life of an artist to living in a brothel. Early on Munch showed a distaste for the art of the past, commenting on the slick, highly finished academic paintings and radically declaring 'there must be no more pictures covered in brown sauce'.
As well as Munch's delight in employing a strong colouristic palette in the present work, the abandoned desk and old school bench in the undergrowth in the foreground express his equal pleasure in leaving his studies behind him, and reflect the sense of liberation he felt as a young painter forging his career.