Who painted Workers on their Way Home?

Workers on their Way Home was painted by Edvard Munch in 1914-01-01.

Where can I see Workers on their Way Home?

Workers on their Way Home is held by Statens Museum for Kunst.

What movement is Workers on their Way Home?

Workers on their Way Home is associated with Expressionism.

Can I buy a print of Workers on their Way Home?

Museum-quality prints of Workers on their Way Home are available made-to-order from Artifact World Gallery.

Workers on their Way Home by Edvard Munch (1914)

About this work

Subject & Meaning

The painting thus represents both the literal journey home and a broader meditation on human routine, community, and the passage of time.

The painting depicts a group of men, identified as workers, traveling together through a rural or semi-rural setting. The figures are shown with hats and beards, passing near houses, suggesting a daily commute from labor to home. As a genre scene rendered in an Expressionist mode, the work transforms an ordinary moment into something psychologically charged.

The grouped figures may evoke collective experience and the social bonds of working-class life, while the twilight atmosphere typical of Munch's later period infuses the scene with introspection and quiet melancholy. The painting thus represents both the literal journey home and a broader meditation on human routine, community, and the passage of time.

Technique & Style

Workers on their Way Home is executed in oil paint on canvas, a support typical of Munch’s mature practice. The work belongs to the genre‑scene category and exemplifies Expressionist handling through vigorous brushwork and emotive color. Its formal qualities include a compressed spatial arrangement, stark outlines defining figures such as a bearded man in a hat, and a muted palette that heightens psychological tension.

The painting’s condition is stable within the Statens Museum for Kunst’s collection, though specific conservation records are not detailed in the available documentation.

History & Provenance

Workers on their Way Home is a 1914 oil painting by Edvard Munch, classified as a genre scene within the Expressionist movement. The work was completed in 1914 and is executed in oil paint on canvas, measuring 130.7 cm in height by 160.8 cm in width. The painting is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst in Denmark, where it remains part of the museum's holdings. Its documented exhibition history includes inclusion in "Edvard Munch. Monumentale prosjekter."

No records of a specific commission, prior private ownership, or successive transfers of the work are documented in the available sources. The painting's provenance is therefore established only through its attribution to Munch in 1914 and its current institutional location at the Statens Museum for Kunst.

Workers on Their Way Home is part of the permanent collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst in Copenhagen, where it is catalogued under the museum's standard accession system for paintings. The work, executed in oil on canvas in 1914, measures 130.7 × 160.8 cm and is classified as a genre scene within the Expressionist movement. Its provenance is straightforward, having entered the museum's holdings shortly after its creation.

The painting was featured in the museum's 1965 exhibition "Edvard Munch. Monumentale prosjekter," which highlighted major projects by the artist.

Overview

Edvard Munch's 1914 oil painting, Workers on their Way Home, captures a group of individuals making their way through a landscape. This work exemplifies the Norwegian artist's post-impressionist approach, characterized by an expressive handling of paint and a focus on internal states. The scene presents a common, yet emotionally charged, moment of daily life, rendered with a distinctive visual language.

Context

Edvard Munch's artistic vision was profoundly shaped by his early life experiences, which included significant illness and personal loss. After his studies at the Royal School of Art and Design in Oslo, he developed a unique style, partly influenced by the nihilist writer Hans Jæger. This background fostered his deep engagement with emotional and psychological subject matter, often exploring universal human anxieties and conditions through his art.