Artwork
Olga and Rosa Meissner
Olga and Rosa Meissner is an oil painting by the Post-Impressionist artist Edvard Munch. It dates from 1907 and is held in the collection of the Munch Museum.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1907, *Olga and Rosa Meissner* is an oil portrait by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch. The canvas presents two women standing side by side, rendered with a loose, textured application of paint. It is part of the collection of the Munch Museum in Oslo, where it is displayed among the painter’s later works.
Subject & Meaning
The composition features a woman in a dark violet coat embracing a companion dressed in a light, high‑collared dress. Their close proximity and the gentle arm‑around gesture suggest intimacy or familial bond. The subdued blue‑gray backdrop and a faint glint of sunlight on the face add a quiet, contemplative atmosphere to the scene.
Technique & Style
Munch employs a post‑impressionist vocabulary, favoring bold hues and visible, impasto brushstrokes that give the surface a palpable texture. The paint is applied thickly, allowing the underlying strokes to remain evident and lending the image a sense of immediacy, as if the moment were captured in the act of painting itself.
History & Provenance
After completing the work, Munch retained the painting within his personal collection before it entered the holdings of the Munch Museum. The piece reflects the artist’s ongoing exploration of psychological depth, a concern that intensified after his early studies at the Royal School of Art and Design in Kristiania and his adoption of Hans Jæger’s advice to paint inner states.
Artist & collection
Artist
Edvard Munch ( MUUNK; Norwegian: ; 12 December 1863 – 23 January 1944) was a Norwegian painter.
