Artwork
Women Turning towards the Sun
Women Turning towards the Sun is an oil painting by the Post-Impressionist artist Edvard Munch. It dates from 1911 and is held in the collection of the Munch Museum.
About this work
Overview
It depicts two nude figures in an open field, their postures and gazes oriented differently toward the sky and earth.
Painted in 1911, *Women Turning towards the Sun* is an oil work by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch. It depicts two nude figures in an open field, their postures and gazes oriented differently toward the sky and earth. The composition reflects Munch’s ongoing interest in human emotion and natural forces, rendered through loose, energetic brushwork and a restrained palette of pink, blue, and yellow tones against a pale background.
Subject & Meaning
The two women embody contrasting responses to light and nature: one gazes downward, perhaps inward or burdened, while the other lifts her face toward the sun, suggesting openness or surrender. Their nudity strips away social identity, focusing attention on physical presence and emotional state. The scene evokes themes of vulnerability, renewal, and the human relationship to elemental forces, without overt narrative or symbolism.
Technique & Style
Munch employed expressive, fluid brushstrokes to convey motion and emotional resonance rather than precise realism. The figures are rendered with naturalistic anatomy but softened by atmospheric color shifts, blending flesh tones with the surrounding light. The background’s muted beige creates a hazy, dreamlike space, enhancing the psychological tone. The technique aligns with post-impressionist tendencies, prioritizing inner experience over external accuracy.
History & Provenance
Created during Munch’s mature period, the painting entered the collection of the Munch Museum in Oslo, which holds the largest assemblage of his works. It was produced after his formative years studying at the Royal School of Art and Design and his engagement with radical thinkers like Hans Jæger. The work reflects his sustained exploration of psychological states through figurative subjects, developed over decades of personal and artistic reflection.
Context
In early 20th-century Norway, Munch’s focus on emotional and existential themes stood apart from prevailing academic traditions. While European modernism moved toward abstraction, Munch retained the human figure as a vessel for inner life. *Women Turning towards the Sun* emerges from a period when he increasingly turned to nature and the body as metaphors for psychological states, distancing himself from earlier symbolic motifs like *The Scream*.
Legacy
The painting contributes to Munch’s broader legacy of using the human form to express universal emotional conditions. Though less widely known than his more dramatic works, it exemplifies his quiet, persistent inquiry into human vulnerability and connection with nature. Its presence in the Munch Museum ensures continued scholarly attention as part of his evolving visual language.
Artist & collection
Artist
Edvard Munch ( MUUNK; Norwegian: ; 12 December 1863 – 23 January 1944) was a Norwegian painter.
