Artwork
Junipers by the Coast
Junipers by the Coast is an oil painting by the Post-Impressionist artist Edvard Munch. It dates from 1913 and is held in the collection of the Munch Museum.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1913, *Junipers by the Coast* is an oil painting by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch. The work presents a coastal landscape dominated by a stand of juniper shrubs, rendered with vigorous brushwork and a palette of dark greens, browns, blues and yellows. It belongs to the collection of the Munch Museum in Oslo.
Subject & Meaning
The composition focuses on a cluster of juniper bushes set against a seascape, suggesting a dialogue between land and water. Munch’s choice of junipers—plants associated with resilience—reflects his ongoing interest in nature as a conduit for personal and emotional reflection.
Technique & Style
Executed in a loose, expressive manner, the painting features visible, thick brushstrokes that build a textured surface. Munch employs contrasting colors—deep greens and earthy browns for the foliage, softened blues and yellows for the background—to convey depth and atmospheric movement.
History & Provenance
Munch produced the work after his studies at the Royal School of Art and Design in Kristiania and during a period of intense exploration of psychological expression. Since its creation, the painting has remained in Norway, ultimately entering the permanent holdings of the Munch Museum.
Context
The piece emerges from Munch’s post‑Impressionist phase, a time when he sought to move beyond naturalistic representation toward a more subjective, emotive approach. Influences from his early associations with radical thinkers, such as Hans Jæger, informed his focus on interior experience expressed through landscape.
Artist & collection
Artist
Edvard Munch ( MUUNK; Norwegian: ; 12 December 1863 – 23 January 1944) was a Norwegian painter.
