The garden in Sunshine

The Garden in Sunshine by Edvard Munch from 1904 depicts a sun-filled garden — a subject that stands in marked contrast to the brooding interiors and existential coastal scenes of his earlier career. By 1904, Munch had established his international reputation and was seeking subjects that extended his expressive range beyond the iconic imagery of The Scream and The Kiss. Summer garden scenes, with their abundance of color and the full brilliance of the Scandinavian sun in high summer, gave him an opportunity to apply his expressive color to a joyful subject. The work belongs to a series of garden paintings he made in various locations in Norway and Germany during the early 1900s.

Munch employs a heightened, high-key palette for the sun-drenched garden, using broad strokes of yellow, green, and red to convey the intense light rather than careful botanical description. His application of paint is energetic and summary, capturing the impression of light rather than the particular forms of plants and flowers.