Artwork
Workers in Snow: Five Fragments
Workers in Snow: Five Fragments is an oil painting by the Post-Impressionist artist Edvard Munch. It dates from 1931 and is held in the collection of the Munch Museum.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1931, *Workers in Snow: Five Fragments* is an oil painting by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch. The work depicts a group of laborers bundled against cold, engaged in a collective task amid a wintry landscape. It is part of the permanent collection of the Munch Museum in Oslo.
Subject & Meaning
The composition centers on a man in a dark coat and hat, shovel in hand, surrounded by four similarly attired figures, some holding tools. The arrangement suggests a shared effort in harsh weather, evoking themes of toil, solidarity, and the human condition confronting nature’s severity.
Technique & Style
Munch employs a loose, expressive brushwork characteristic of his later post‑impressionist phase. Bold strokes and a limited palette of dark clothing against a light beige, almost snow‑suggestive background create a sense of movement and immediacy, while the textured surface conveys the chill of the scene.
History & Provenance
The painting was produced toward the end of Munch’s career, a period marked by continued investigation of psychological states through everyday subjects. After its completion, it entered the holdings of the Munch Museum, where it remains on display as part of the artist’s later oeuvre.
Artist & collection
Artist
Edvard Munch ( MUUNK; Norwegian: ; 12 December 1863 – 23 January 1944) was a Norwegian painter.
