From very early on in his career Edvard Munch aimed to convey the angst and isolation characteristic of modern man. Evening reflects these interests.
It is considered to be the artist’s first treatment of the subject of melancholy and also looks forward to his more characteristic Symbolist compositions.
Munch used his sister Laura as a model on numerous occasions.
In this canvas she is depicted seated and in profile, in front of the house on the Norwegian fjord where they spent the summer of 1888. Her body occupies the foreground, albeit located on the far left-hand side and truncated at the bottom and on the left side.
Edvard Munch | Evening, 1888 | Munch Museum |