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Photo: npg.org.ukMost people know Edvard Munch for just one thing: his famous painting The Scream. But the Norwegian painter is widely regarded as one of the greatest portrait artists of the 19th and 20th centuries, and this new exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery will focus on this often overlooked aspect of his work.
Munch's problems with his mental health and alcoholism saddled him with an image of being a lonely soul, but he was actually a very social person and had many friends that supported him during his lowest moments.
Photo: Foto Munchmuseet / Ove KvavikHe produced an extraordinary range of self-portraits alongside intimate portraits of these family members, friends, lovers and fellow artists. He painted them both for personal reasons, and also as commissions from patrons and art collectors.
Photo: Nasjonalmuseet/Børre HøstlandWhilst the portraits were primarily direct observations of named individuals, they also doubled-up as explorations of the human condition as he strived to capture their state of mind through his bold use of colour and energetic brushstrokes.
Photo: Munch Museet/Juri KobayashiMany of the pictures were far from flattering and few of his subjects admired them, and some - such as the art critic Jappe Nilssen and playwright August Strindberg - even hated them!
The exhibition will bring together more than 40 of these paintings from across his entire career, allowing us to see how his style evolved over the years, from the naturalism of his youth to his vivid experiments with colour and contrast.
How to get to the National Portrait Gallery
| Fare zone | Cash | Oyster & Contactless | Travelcard | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single fare | Single fare | Daily cap | One day | ||||
| Peak | Off-peak | Peak | Off-peak | Anytime | Off-peak | ||
| Bus (all zones) | n/a | £1.75 | £5.25 | £6 | |||
| Train (zone 1) | £7 | £2.90 | £2.80 | £8.90 | £8.90 | £16.60(zone 1-4) | £16.60(zone 1-6) |
| Train (zone 1-2) | £7 | £3.50 | £2.90 | £8.90 | £8.90 | ||
| Train (zone 1-3) | £7 | £3.80 | £3.10 | £10.50 | £10.50 | ||
| Train (zone 1-4) | £7 | £4.60 | £3.40 | £12.80 | £12.80 | ||
| Train (zone 1-5) | £7 | £5.20 | £3.60 | £15.30 | £15.30 | £23.60(zone 1-6) | |
| Train (zone 1-6) | £7 | £5.80* | £3.80* | £16.30 | £16.30 | ||
| * Journeys between zone 1 and Heathrow are always charged at the peak rate. Prices are correct as of | |||||||
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