- 194
Edvard Munch
Description
- Edvard Munch
- Women on the bridge
- black crayon on paper
- 36.2 by 48.4cm., 14 1/8 by 19in.
Provenance
Sale: Sotheby's, New York, 9th May 2002, lot 205
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner
Exhibited
Riehen/Basel, Foundation Beyeler & Schwäbisch Hall, Kunsthalle Würth, Edvard Munch: Signs of Modern Art, 2007, no 184, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
Paris, Pinacothèque de Paris, Edvard Munch ou l'"Anti-Cri", 2010, no. 70, illustrated in the catalogue
Rotterdam, Kunsthalle Rotterdam, Rétrospective E. Munch, 2011
Condition
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
Catalogue Note
Women on the Bridge takes the stages of a young woman's development from adolescence to maturity as its principal theme, and relates closely to the Frieze of Life paintings. Munch's exploration of the issues of sexual awakening and morality is powerfully symbolic; he has emphasised the centrality of the women to the composition with a bold and assertive contour, and their isolation between two points of land is a visual metaphor for their transitional stage in life. Munch's draughtsmanship is characteristically organic and sinuous, demonstrating his trademark expressive forms and distorted perspective. Between 1901 and 1935 Munch produced a total of twelve known oil paintings and a number of variations in etching, lithograph and woodcut, all based on the composition of Women on a Bridge. The present drawing is believed to date from the 1920s and relates most closely in composition to the 1903 painting, On the Bridge, which is currently in the collection of the Thielska Galleriet, Stockholm (fig. 1). It has been suggested that Munch may have created the present work as a preparatory study for a lithograph which he later abandoned.