Around the turn of the century, Munch had a turbulent romantic relationship with Mathilde "Tulla" Larsen (1869–1942). In the late summer of 1902, their very last meeting took place in Munch's house in the small seaside town of Åsgårdstrand. Munch was wounded in his left middle finger when a pistol allegedly accidentally discharged. Neither Larsen nor Munch was able to provide a satisfactory explanation of the event and it is still not known what really happened. However, what is known is that Munch would thereafter work without the use of one of his joints for the rest of his life.
Although this 1899 photograph of Larsen and Munch does look like a portrait of a married couple, Munch never married.
In 1905, Munch painted Head by head, which depicts himself together with Larsen.
The girls in his summer retreat
The theme in the painting The Girls on the Bridge is central in Munch's oeuvre and is featured in twelve editions of the work. Munch painted the first edition just after the turn of the century. The first edition is exhibited at The National Museum in Oslo. The motif is from the small seaside town Åsgårdstrand.
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"The Girls on the Bridge", Edvard Munch (1901).
Photo: Nasjonalmuseet / Børre Høstland
Flirtation and friendship
Munch's relationships with women were typically brief, spontaneous first-time meetings followed by a lifelong fascination, more or less on both sides.
One of these women was Ingse Vibe (1886–1945) who is said to have caught Munch's attention by leaning over the wooden fence outside his house in Åsgårdstrand one day in 1903, when she was just 16 years old.
They cultivated a friendship that would last for decades. This relationship isdocumented through their preserved correspondence. One postcard is a photo of Ingse acting on stage at the National Theatre in Oslo that reads: "I wanted to send you a small greeting and show you how pretty I look when I'm a good girl. Yours, Ingse."
Munch also frequently used Ingse as a model for his drawings and paintings.
Another postcard from Ingse Vibe to Edvard Munch, sent in 1907, shows that the notion that a woman could dress in a suit and sail a boat was alive in Norway more than a hundred years ago.
The Brooch is a 1903 lithograph depicting the English violinist Eva Mudocci (1883–1953), who was Munch's lover. The motif is closely related to Munch's key workMadonna. Mudocci also appears in two other works by Munch from the same year: The violin concert and Salome. Munch has been quoted as saying that Mudocci had "eyes of a thousand years" and once sent her a letter in which he wrote: "Here is the stone that has fallen from my heart."
"She had the eyes of a thousand years" – Edvard Munch
The portraits of women at Ekely in Oslo
Between 1916 and his death in 1944, Munch lived and worked in Ekely, a former market garden located in Oslo. Although numerous women visited his home and studio in Ekely to be portrayed, many of these artworks are less well known today.
Ekely atelier, Oslo (1929).
Photo: Munchmuseet / Munch-Ellingsen / Bono
Edvard Munch struggled with the dilemma between his passion for women and his fear of rejection throughout his life. He considered marriage to be incompatible with his artistic ambitions and remained unmarried until his death in 1944 at the age of 80.
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