Artwork
Caricature Portrait of Henrik Lund
Caricature Portrait of Henrik Lund is an oil painting by the Post-Impressionist artist Edvard Munch. It dates from 1905 and is held in the collection of the Munch Museum.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1905, the oil work titled *Caricature Portrait of Henrik Lund* belongs to the oeuvre of Norwegian painter Edvard Munch. Executed in a post‑impressionist manner, the canvas captures a close‑up view of a smiling, bald man in a white collar, his face rendered in an unusual pale‑green hue with a wide open mouth. The painting resides in the collection of the Munch Museum.
Subject & Meaning
The sitter, Henrik Lund, was a member of Munch’s artistic circle, and the portrait presents him with a deliberately exaggerated expression. The open mouth and distorted facial colors convey a psychological intensity that reflects Munch’s interest in inner emotional states, turning a straightforward likeness into a study of character and mood.
Technique & Style
Munch applied thick, impasto brushstrokes that give the surface a tactile, rough quality, allowing the colors to surge in unexpected juxtapositions. The background is rendered with swift, sketch‑like gestures, while a blurred figure in a red coat and a vivid yellow plant emerge behind the sitter, adding depth through contrast and spontaneity.
History & Provenance
After its completion, the portrait entered the holdings of the Munch Museum, where it has remained on public view. The work reflects a period when Munch, having trained at the Royal School of Art and Design in Kristiania, was consolidating a personal visual language informed by his psychological preoccupations.
Context
The painting emerges from Munch’s involvement with bohemian networks in early‑20th‑century Norway, a milieu that encouraged experimentation beyond naturalistic representation. Its post‑impressionist approach aligns with contemporary European trends that favored expressive distortion, situating the work within broader shifts toward subjective, emotionally charged portraiture.
Artist & collection
Artist
Edvard Munch ( MUUNK; Norwegian: ; 12 December 1863 – 23 January 1944) was a Norwegian painter.
