Landscape

Edvard Munch's 'Landscape' (1904) is a late work from the painter who balanced his intense psychological figure subjects with a sustained engagement with the Norwegian landscape — particularly the coastal landscape around Åsgårdstrand and the landscapes of his later Ekely property. His landscape subjects showed a different aspect of his artistic personality from the anguished figure compositions, the natural world depicted with a directness and warmth that provided counterbalance to the psychological complexity of his most celebrated works.

Munch renders the landscape with the expressionist directness of his mature style — the forms somewhat simplified and the color organized for expressive impact rather than naturalistic description. His brushwork in landscape subjects maintained the loose, energetic quality of his figure work, the same expressive touch applied to trees, fields, and sky as to his human subjects. His palette in late landscapes tended toward the warm greens and blues of the Norwegian summer and the rich colors of the autumn.