Artwork
At the Coffee Table
At the Coffee Table is an oil painting by the Post-Impressionist artist Edvard Munch. It dates from 1892 and is held in the collection of the Munch Museum.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1892, *At the Coffee Table* is an oil painting by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch. The work portrays two figures seated opposite each other at a modest table, rendered with thick, uneven brushwork that emphasizes texture over polished finish. The composition is part of Munch’s early investigations into everyday moments as carriers of deeper emotional resonance.
Subject & Meaning
The figures are identified as Munch’s sister, Karen Bjølstad, and his brother, Christian, positioned in a domestic interior. Their posture—her upright, him hunched—suggests a quiet, perhaps introspective interaction. The modest objects—a cup, saucer, and a plate holding a piece of fruit or bread—anchor the scene in ordinary life while inviting contemplation of familial bonds and personal mood.
Technique & Style
Munch employs a post‑impressionist palette, favoring muted tones punctuated by brighter accents such as a red tablecloth. The painting’s surface is marked by impasto‑like, heavy brushstrokes that leave a rough, unfinished appearance, reinforcing the work’s emotional immediacy and distancing it from academic smoothness.
History & Provenance
The painting entered the collection of the Munch Museum in Oslo, where it remains part of the institution’s holdings of the artist’s early oeuvre. Its acquisition reflects the museum’s commitment to preserving works that document Munch’s formative period before his later, more widely known Symbolist productions.
Artist & collection
Artist
Edvard Munch ( MUUNK; Norwegian: ; 12 December 1863 – 23 January 1944) was a Norwegian painter.
