Edvard Munch

Trembling Earth

June 10, 2023–October 15, 2023

Edvard Munch: Trembling Earth is the first exhibition in the United States to consider how the noted Norwegian artist Edvard Munch (1863–1944) employed nature to convey meaning in his art. Munch is regarded primarily as a figure painter, and his most celebrated images (including his iconic The Scream) are connected to themes of love, anxiety, longing, and death. Yet, landscape plays an essential role in a large portion of Munch’s work. Edvard Munch: Trembling Earth considers this important, but less explored, aspect of the artist’s career.

The exhibition is organized thematically to show how Munch used nature to convey human emotions and relationships, celebrate farming practice and garden cultivation, and explore the mysteries of the forest even as his Norwegian homeland faced industrialization.

Trembling Earth features over seventy-five objects, ranging from brilliantly hued landscapes and three stunning self-portraits, to an extensive selection of his innovative prints and drawings, including a lithograph of Munch's most celebrated work, The Scream. The exhibition includes more than thirty works from the Munchmuseet’s world-renowned collection, major pieces from other museums in the USA and Europe, and nearly forty paintings and prints from private collections, many of which are rarely exhibited.

Additional Venues:
November 18, 2023–April 1, 2024
Museum Barberini, Potsdam

April 27, 2024–August 24, 2024
Munchmuseet, Oslo
 

Edvard Munch: Trembling Earth is co-organized by the Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, Massachusetts; the Museum Barberini, Potsdam, Germany; and Munchmuseet, Oslo, Norway, and curated by Jay A. Clarke, Rothman Family Curator, Art Institute of Chicago; Jill Lloyd, independent curator; and Trine Otte Bak Nielsen, curator, Munchmuseet. Generous funding for presentation at the Clark and Munchmuseet is provided by the Asbjorn Lunde Foundation, Inc.

Edvard Munch: Trembling Earth is made possible by Diane and Andreas Halvorsen. Major funding is provided by Carol and Richard Seltzer, with additional support from Lady Gibbons, Robert D. Kraus, the S & L Marx Foundation, and the Norwegian Consulate General, New York. This exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.