Curator’s pick: Munch’s ‘Melancholy’ at London’s Courtauld Gallery
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
This article is part of a guide to London from FT Globetrotter
The artist: Edvard Munch (1863—1944)
Munch’s career took off in 1880s Oslo, where he worked alongside a circle of progressive artists. He was inspired by the French Impressionists and Post-Impressionists, including Gauguin and Van Gogh, as well as the work of Nietzsche.
The Norwegian industrialist and collector Rasmus Meyer bought “Melancholy” in the first decade of the 20th century. He set out to assemble a comprehensive group of Munch’s pictures, getting to know the artist and often buying directly from him. He acquired the work for his private collection, with the intention that it would become public. When he died in 1916, his children donated his collection to the city of Bergen, which opened a museum in 1924. “Melancholy” is still the centrepiece.
Barnaby Wright is deputy head of The Courtauld Gallery and a specialist in late-19th-century and 20th-century art. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
The Courtauld’s current exhibition, “Masterpieces from Bergen”, runs until September 4. Read the FT’s review here.
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