The weather in Oslo this morning was bad. Very bad with heavy rain as we have had last night too.
We therefore decided to take a trip to the small city
Åsgardstrand where many Norwegian painters like: Edvard Munch, Christian Krogh and Hans Heyerdahl stayed many summers. Åsgårdstrand can be seen as the Norwegian answer to Denmark´s Skagen.
One of Munch´s most famous paintings are "Girls on the Bridge" 1901 (below) and my wife placed herself almost in the same position as Munch´s models.
Munch always said "I don´t paint what I see. I paint what I saw" but in Åsgårdstrand it is easy to imagine where he put his easel and model.
I am not convinced that the Melancholy beach is on the beach below his house. (That is what the guides are arguing) A little bit south of the harbor (where I am sitting) looks more like the place for "Melancholy" 1891 - 94.
Munch first visited the coast between Borre and Åsgårdstrand in 1885. He rented a house from 1889 and bought his own house in 1898. The year after he raised the red studio-house where many of his sketches for "Livsfrisen" was made. Today "Munchs House" is a small museum and cultural center.
Of course he also painted the two houses and this nice painting expresses the warm summer cottages in the light of Åsgårdstrand.
We had a great day in Åsgårdstrand and recommend everyone to visit the area and feel the spirit of our great painter
Edvard Munch
1 comment:
Wow, thanks for the info and photos! Thinking of visiting soon myself - is there anything else to do there? Is it a fun town to spend a few hours after the museum??
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