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People and Timber Transport in a Kragerø Street by Edvard Munch

Edvard Munch · 1910-01-01

People and Timber Transport in a Kragerø Street (1910) is an Edvard Munch painting at the Munch Museum in Oslo. Munch is known for The Scream and his paintings of anxiety, but here he turns to a humble winter scene in a Norwegian timber town.

Look at the faces. The lumberjack's features are stretched and uneasy, and his companions share a greenish, ghostly pallor. Then find the bright yellow bundle wrapped in cloth in one figure's hand, a small ambiguous detail rendered with the same thick, rough brushstrokes as the rest of the scene.

Kragerø was an important timber hub in early 20th-century Norway. Munch spent time there painting its streets and its working life. The painting entered the Munch Museum as part of their mission to show the full range of his work.

A painting of lumber workers by the man who heard the scream of nature. Something of that intensity found its way into the snow.

Details

In 1910, he painted lumber workers in the snow.
In 1910, he painted lumber workers in the snow.
The lumberjack's face: distorted. Uneasy.
The lumberjack's face: distorted. Uneasy.
He never stopped painting emotional intensity.
He never stopped painting emotional intensity.
The rich, dark blue of the coat contrasts sharply with the surrounding snow, grounding the figure and adding a somber tone.
The rich, dark blue of the coat contrasts sharply with the surrounding snow, grounding the figure and adding a somber tone.
Transcript

This painter once heard the infinite scream of nature. In 1910, he painted lumber workers in the snow. The lumberjack's face: distorted. Uneasy. A bright yellow bundle in his hand. Wrapped in cloth. He never stopped painting emotional intensity.