Munch Museum

Munch Museum
Munch-museet
The black text logo reads "Munch" in all-capitals, which is styled in reverse italics.
Construction site of the current Munch Museum at Bjørvika, December 2020.
Map
Interactive fullscreen map
Established29 May 1963 (1963-05-29)
LocationOslo, Norway
Coordinates59°54′20.7″N 10°45′19.1″E / 59.905750°N 10.755306°E / 59.905750; 10.755306
TypeArt museum
Key holdingsThe Scream, Madonna, The Sick Child, Puberty
Architect
  • Juan Herreros (Bjørvika)
  • Gunnar Fougner, Einar Myklebust (Tøyen)
OwnerOslo Municipality
Public transit accessOslo Central Station, Bjørvika tram stop
Websitewww.munchmuseet.no/en/

Munch Museum (Norwegian: Munch-museet), marketed as Munch (stylised in all caps) since 2020, is an art museum in Bjørvika, Oslo, Norway dedicated to the life and works of the Norwegian artist Edvard Munch.[1]

The museum was originally located at Tøyen, which was opened in 1963. The museum moved to the new museum building at Bjørvika, which was opened in 22 October 2021.[2][3][4]

Selected collection highlights

Buildings

Original

The original Munch Museum at Tøyen, Oslo, Norway.

The original Munch Museum was situated at Tøyen in the Oslo borough of Gamle Oslo. Construction of the museum was financed from the profits generated by the Oslo municipal cinemas and opened its doors in 1963 to commemorate what would have been Munch's 100th birthday. Its collection consists of works and articles by Munch, which he donated to the municipality of Oslo upon his death, and additional works donated by his sister Inger Munch, as well as various other works obtained through trades, including duplicate prints.[5]

The museum had in its permanent collection well over half of the artist's entire production of paintings and at least one copy of all his prints. This amounted to over 1,200 paintings, 18,000 prints, six sculptures, as well as 500 plates, 2,240 books, and various other items. The museum also contained educational and conservation sections, and has facilities for the performing arts.[6]

The entrance to the original museum at Tøyen

The museum structure was designed by architects Einar Myklebust and Gunnar Fougner. Myklebust also played an important role in the expansion and renovation of the museum in 1994 for the 50th anniversary of Munch's death. This site was also the location of filming for an Olsenbanden-movie from 1984.[7][8]

The last exhibition of the museum while at Tøyen, Oslo was opened in May 2021, which lasted until 1 October.[9][10]

Current

Previously, in 2008, the City of Oslo promoted an architectural competition for a new Munch Museum in the area of Bjørvika, a new urban development where the Oslo Opera House is also located. The competition was won in 2009 by Spanish architect Juan Herreros and his studio Herreros Arquitectos (now estudio Herreros).[11][12][13]

Before the local election in Oslo in 2011, the Oslo Progress Party decided that they would no longer support the project due to economic concerns. After the election, in December 2011, the Oslo City Council voted to end the project. Instead the council wanted to consider improving the current museum or moving the collection to Nasjonalgalleriet.[14][15]

In May 2013, the Oslo City Council finally took the decision to revive the project, and move the museum to its new site on the waterfront, next to the Oslo Opera House. Construction started in September 2015.[12][16] The new museum has been widely criticised for its design, where it has been branded the unofficial world's largest collection of guard rails.[17]

In summer 2021, 28000 pieces of art were moved from the previous museum at Tøyen, to the new museum at Bjørvika, Oslo.[18][19]

The museum was opened by King Harald V on 22 October 2021.[2][20]

2004 armed robbery of two paintings

The 1910 version of Munch's The Scream is on exhibit in the museum
Further information: The Scream § Thefts

On Sunday, 22 August 2004, two paintings by Munch, The Scream and Madonna, were stolen from the Munch Museum by armed robbers who forced the museum guards to lie on the floor while they snapped the cable securing the paintings to the wall. The paintings were recovered by Oslo Police on 31 August 2006.[21]

See also

References

  1. ^ Munch Museum (Oslo Norway Tourist Information and Travel Guide) Archived 2011-06-11 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ a b Nielsen, Jonathan Gaathaug (22 October 2021). "Kongeparet åpnet Munchmuseet". NRK (in Norwegian Bokmål).
  3. ^ https://www.munchmuseet.no/. Retrieved 12 June 2021. "22. oktober åpner nye Munch"
  4. ^ Moxnes, Agnes (11 June 2021). "Museum på museum". NRK (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  5. ^ Faltin, Annette. "Munch-museet (Store norske leksikon)".
  6. ^ Munch Museum (artnoir) Archived 2010-11-23 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ Seip, Elisabeth (20 February 2017). "Einar Myklebust". Norsk kunstnerleksikon. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
  8. ^ Seip, Elisabeth (20 February 2017). "Gunnar Fougner". Norsk kunstnerleksikon. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
  9. ^ The Face Is Something You Slide Into
  10. ^ https://www.munchmuseet.no/. "Gi meg et navn[.] Opplev vår siste utstilling på Tøyen, som tar opp spørsmål om identitet, rasisme og mangfold."
  11. ^ "Juan Herreros". Columbia GSAPP. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
  12. ^ a b "Majority hails new Munch Museum". newsinenglish.no. 29 May 2013. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
  13. ^ Munch Museum and Deichman Library in Oslo competition results ArcDaily, 27 March 2009. Retrieved 30 November 2012
  14. ^ Oslo bystyre vraker Lambda VG, 14 December 2011 (in Norwegian)
  15. ^ Mohsin, Saleha (27 November 2012). "They All Scream for Edvard Munch, but Oslo Can't Satisfy Demand". Wall Street Journal.
  16. ^ "About the Munch Museum". Munch Museum. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
  17. ^ Grønneberg, Mathilde Lea, Anders (28 February 2019). "Arkitekt: – Jeg vil si at Munchmuseet suger". dagbladet.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 26 September 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  18. ^ "Munchs «Solen» fraktet inn i det nye Munchmuseet". Dagsavisen (in Norwegian). 1 June 2021. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  19. ^ "Bak kulissene".
  20. ^ Bjørnhovde, Hilde. "Folkefest da Munchmuseet åpnet i Bjørvika: – Alle skal være stolte av dette". Aftenposten (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  21. ^ Munch museum to improve security (Det Norske Veritas) Archived 2012-07-28 at archive.today

Other sources

  • Eggum, Arne; Gerd Woll, Marit Lande Munch At The Munch Museum (Scala Publishers, 2005)
  • Langaard, Johan H. Edvard Munch: Masterpieces from the artist's collection in the Munch Museum in Oslo (McGraw-Hill. 1964)