Artwork
Alma Mater: Right Side
Alma Mater: Right Side is an oil painting by the Post-Impressionist artist Edvard Munch. It dates from 1910 and is held in the collection of the Munch Museum.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1910, *Alma Mater: Right Side* is an adhesive‑based work by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch. The piece belongs to the post‑impressionist period of his career and is part of the Munch Museum’s permanent holdings. Its large format presents an abstract composition on a light beige ground, dominated by soft greens, blues, pinks and touches of brown and yellow.
Subject & Meaning
The painting conveys a tranquil atmosphere through its muted palette and gentle tonal shifts. The interplay of pastel hues and subtle texture suggests an interior, perhaps an imagined educational space, evoking calm rather than the angst typical of Munch’s more famous images. The work invites contemplation of serenity and the quiet spaces of learning.
Technique & Style
Munch employed adhesive as a binding medium, allowing him to layer pigment with a degree of translucency. Loose, expressive strokes create a sense of movement across the surface, while the varied texture adds depth. The pastel color scheme and abstracted forms reflect his post‑impressionist interest in emotional resonance over strict representation.
History & Provenance
After its completion, the painting entered the collection of the Munch Museum in Oslo, where it remains on display. Its acquisition reflects the museum’s mission to preserve the breadth of Munch’s output, including lesser‑known experimental pieces from the early 1910s.
Context
The work emerges from a period when Munch, shaped by personal illness and family loss, was exploring psychological themes through color and form. His studies at the Royal School of Art and Design in Kristiania and his association with radical thinker Hans Jæger informed a turn toward introspective, mood‑driven art, of which this piece is a quiet example.
Artist & collection
Artist
Edvard Munch ( MUUNK; Norwegian: ; 12 December 1863 – 23 January 1944) was a Norwegian painter.
