Artwork
Standing Nude
Standing Nude is an oil painting by the Post-Impressionist artist Edvard Munch. It dates from 1922 and is held in the collection of the Munch Museum.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1922, *Standing Nude* is an oil painting by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch. Executed during the later phase of his career, the work aligns with the post‑impressionist tendency toward expressive color and simplified form. The canvas is part of the permanent collection of the Munch Museum, where it is displayed among other late works by the painter.
Subject & Meaning
The composition centers on a solitary female figure, rendered without clothing and positioned directly facing the viewer. Her posture is relaxed, arms at her sides, hands clenched into fists, while a green headband rests on her hair. The expression is neutral, inviting contemplation of the body as an autonomous presence rather than a narrative scene.
Technique & Style
Munch employs loose, gestural brushwork to suggest the contours of flesh, using a muted palette of pinks and purples for the skin. The surrounding background is built up with bold, impasto strokes in yellow, green and red, creating a vivid contrast that heightens the figure’s immediacy. The overall effect balances energetic surface texture with a restrained depiction of the nude.
History & Provenance
After its completion, the painting entered the artist’s estate and was eventually transferred to the Munch Museum in Oslo, where it has remained in the institutional collection. The work has been included in several retrospectives of Munch’s late period, illustrating his continued exploration of form and color into the 1920s.
Context
Munch’s early life was marked by frequent illness and personal loss, experiences that informed his lifelong preoccupation with existential themes. By the early 1920s, his style had shifted from the stark symbolism of his earlier oeuvre toward a more color‑driven, post‑impressionist language, as seen in the vibrant background and expressive handling of paint in *Standing Nude*.
Artist & collection
Artist
Edvard Munch ( MUUNK; Norwegian: ; 12 December 1863 – 23 January 1944) was a Norwegian painter.
