Edvard Munch Portraits at the National Portrait Gallery

13^th March 2025

Constance A

Constance A

13 March 2025

Edvard Munch’s The Scream holds an almost mythic status in the pantheon of art, its face a touchstone for the existential dread that threads through us all. Yet, beyond The Scream, many might find it challenging to name another of his works. Munch, often perceived as a tormented soul, was also a prolific portrait artist who navigated social circles with surprising ease. The latest exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, Edvard Munch Portraits, unveils this lesser-known side of the Norwegian master, presenting a more sociable and convivial Munch, intimately connected with friends, family and wealthy patrons.

This exhibition, the first of its kind in Britain to concentrate solely on Munch’s portraits, amasses more than 40 works, spanning from the artist’s student days to his later years. Contrary to the view of Munch as a solitary painter plagued with darkness and angst, these portraits reveal a sociable man equally engaged with the world around him. An assertive Self-portrait (1882-83), painted at the age of 19, inaugurates the show, setting a different tone from the start. This is a Munch we are not familiar with. Here, we are offered some lovely, intimate paintings of his closest friends and family. His father, stern, bearded and contemplative, and his sister Laura, whose troubled gaze hints at her lifelong struggle with mental illness. These portraits, while subtly alluding to familial struggles, capture something deeply affectionate. This is Munch’s gaze upon his loved ones, presenting them to us in their truest forms, unvarnished and sincere.

Also on display are Munch’s interactions with the bohemian sects of Kristiania, Paris and Berlin – vital to his development as an artist. These groups, lively and often contentious, are depicted in dark, atmospheric portraits filled with smoke and shadow. Notable among these is a depiction of Hans Jaeger (1889), the notorious  “self-proclaimed” leader of the Kristiania Boheme, and a portrait of Swedish playwright August Strindberg (1892), whose confident gaze challenges the viewer from beneath a Van Gogh-esque swirl of colour and light.

As Munch journeyed through the world of portrait commissions, he shifted toward more conventional portraiture: grandiose depictions of well-dressed men, like the art critic Jappe Nilssen (1909), resplendent in a purple suit against a luminous green backdrop. This portrait, which, we are told, was not well-received by its sitter, is completely brilliant. The exhibition’s final room, titled Friends and Guardians, highlights the supportive network of friends and patrons that surrounded Munch in his later years. Here, we are presented with a particularly captivating portrait of Henriette Olsen (1932), an aspiring artist and the wife of one of Munch’s most significant patrons in Norway. The composition is remarkable – Henriette is depicted wearing a translucent, yellow sundress that seems to glow with sunlight. Munch’s approach in this work leans towards the abstract, characterised by thin, diluted brushstrokes. This piece transcends the typical portrait; it tells a deeper story, imbued with layers of social relevance.

All in all, this exhibition complicates our understanding of Munch, suggesting a man not just consumed by his inner demons but a more approachable man of society, friendship and familial love. The argument is persuasive, and it’s a wonderful experience to view all these portraits assembled together for the first time in this country. Yet, one of the final pieces in the show, a Self-portrait by the Arbour (1942), seems to reopen the question of who he really is. In this work, his features are obscured by broad, unfinished strokes, a figure both present and withdrawing. Who was he really? The exhibition offers insights, yet Munch’s true intentions and identity continue to elude definitive understanding. Don’t miss this exhibit on the second floor of the National Portrait Gallery; it’s a bit tucked away but definitely worth the visit.

Constance Ayrton
Image: Käte and Hugo Perls, 1913 by Edvard Munch © Foto Munchmuseet / Ove Kvavik

Edvard Munch Portraits is at the National Portrait Gallery from 13^th March until 15^th June 2025. For further information or to book visit the exhibition’s website here.