Dagny Konow

Dagny Konow of 1885 is an early female portrait that Munch painted during his formative period at the Kristiania art school. Dagny Konow was a member of the Christiania bourgeoisie, and the commission placed the young Munch within the social world of Norwegian professional-class portraiture that sustained many artists' early careers. At this stage his work remains firmly within the Naturalist conventions of his teacher Christian Krohg, and the painting provides an instructive contrast with the later symbolic female figures — Vampire, Madonna, the three stages of woman — that would become defining images of his mature career.

The portrait employs the standard Naturalist recipe of a three-quarter pose against a muted neutral background, with careful attention to the sitter's dress and the subtle modelling of her face in indirect interior light. The handling is controlled and technically competent without yet showing the individualised touch that distinguishes his later portrait works.