The Collection belonging to the Munch Museum consists of a major part of Edvard Munch’s complete oeuvre. In addition, the Museum has a special library dedicated to literature about Munch and his work and a comprehensive collection of research and documentary material. Research and development studies concerning Edvard Munch - the most important Norwegian artist - are therefore one of the main priorities of the Museum.
The collection as well as the accumulated knowledge about the artist, is made available for research purposes by the Museum. The material is to be found in the Museum library, which is open from Monday to Friday, from 9.00 - 15.00. The Museum’s own research work is also related to this material, and a great deal of it is used in connection with exhibitions and the mediation of them – especially exhibition catalogues. The library continues to structure the comprehensive resource and research material it holds. Edvard Munch’s diaries and notes are being transcribed again into a more standardised form - the aim is to publish these in their entirety. A biographical database containing information about people connected to Edvard Munch is being developed. This work is headed by the Research Librarian, Lasse Jacobsen.
Catalogue raisonné: Paintings
The publication i 2001 of Senior Curator Gerd Woll’s comprehensive catalogue of Munch’s entire printmaking oeuvre, represents the result of many years of research. In collaboration with Kaare Berntsen AS and Galleri Faurschou, she has completed a comprehensive catalogue of all Munch’s paintings. This work started in 2004. She had for a period two full-time assistants, and also received various support from the Museum’s different departments and Conservation Studio. The catalogue was published in the autumn of 2008.
Munch's drawings
It is several decades since a representative exhibition of Munch’s drawings has been shown in, or outside, the Museum. Because of this, a new, extensive exhibition of his drawings was produced by the Museum. More than three thousand drawings were considered, and a great deal on conservation work was carried out, before this large selection of work could be presented. The exhibition was shown at the Musée d’Ixelles in Brussels in 2004. A catalogue/book was produced on the occasion of the exhibition. It was published in four languages and was written by curator, Magne Bruteig. A great exhibition presenting Munch's drawings was shown in the Munch museum from January - April 2007.
Munch becoming "Munch". Artistic strategies 1880-1892
10 October 2008 - 12 January 2009
The exhibition in the Munch Museum focused on Munch's artistic career from the early 1880s until he was seen as an established and mature artist in the 1890s. It investigated which strategies Munch used to establish his identity, both in his expression and his role as an artist. Munch's strategy to establish himself on the art scene and among the public creates an interesting debate with regard to the role of the artist and the rhetoric of the avant-garde.
The exhibition was based on a comprehensive loan from institutions and private persons in Norway and abroad. Several of the works have never been shown in Norway since Munch lived. This research-based exhibition was accompanied by a catalogue containing essays written by international and Norwegian Munch scolars and marked the publishing of the Catalogue Raisonné of Munch's paintings.
Read more about the exhibition here
Edvard Munch's written material
In addition to a vast production of paintings, drawings and graphical works, Edvard Munch wrote about 12.000 pages during his lifetime. This heterogeneous material , that includes literary diaries, letters, drafts for latters, lists for exhibitions, shopping lists and other notes, will be published on the internet in 2010. Both photographs of the originals and transcriptions will be available for researchers, students and other interested, providing a unique insight in Munch's life and art. Project leader is Mai Britt Guleng.
Website Munch's written material
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