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Two figures stand on a rocky shore facing away from us

We see from behind, a woman facing out toward an expanse of pale blue water, her white dress standing out against a horizontal band of black, rocky terrain that stretches across the middle of the piece. She holds her right arm in front of her and stands very straight, her red hair falling almost to the base of her back. Two steps to her right, a man dressed in black stands, also facing the water, half turned toward her. The back of his neck and his face are shadowed in dark tan, and another band of black rocks curves across the bottom edge of the piece.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
M21548
People
Edvard Munch, Norwegian (Loiten, Norway 1863 - 1944 Ekely, Norway)
Title
Two Human Beings (The Lonely Ones)
Other Titles
Alternate Title: Two Human Beings. The Lonely Ones
Original Language Title: To mennesker. De ensomme
Classification
Prints
Work Type
print
Date
1899
Culture
Norwegian
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/253117

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Color woodcut with paper overlays printed in black, turquoise, yellow, and red inks, with added orange watercolor on the man's head, on cream wove paper discolored to tan
Technique
Woodcut
Dimensions
block: 39.4 × 55.6 cm (15 1/2 × 21 7/8 in.)
sheet: 52.8 × 73.3 cm (20 13/16 × 28 7/8 in.)
Inscriptions and Marks
  • Signed: Edv Munch
  • inscription: lower sheet margin below right corner of block, graphite: Edv Munch
  • collector's mark: verso, blue stamp: P A S / - / L G S [Philip A. and Lynn G. Straus, Lugt 5642]
  • collector's mark: verso, black stamp with graphite numbering below:
    THE WILLIAM HAYES FOGG / ART MUSEUM OF / HARVARD UNIVERSITY / M21548 [Lugt 936]

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
[Kaare Berntsen, A/S, Oslo], sold; to Lynn and Philip A. Straus, 1976, gift; to Harvard Art Museums, 1991

State, Edition, Standard Reference Number

State
Woll c/c V/VIII
Standard Reference Number
Woll 157, Schiefler 133 II

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Gift of Lynn and Philip A. Straus, class of 1937
Accession Year
1991
Object Number
M21548
Division
European and American Art
Contact
am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
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Publication History

  • Elizabeth Prelinger, Edvard Munch: Master Printmaker, exh. cat., W. W. Norton & Company and Harvard University Art Museums, Busch-Reisinger Museum (New York and London, 1983), pl. 119
  • Elizabeth Prelinger, Guide to the Exhibition "Edvard Munch: Master Printmaker. Prints from The Philip and Lynn Straus Collection", brochure, Harvard Art Museums (Cambridge, MA, 1983), checklist
  • Gerd Woll, Edvard Munch: The Complete Graphic Works, Orfeus Publishing (Oslo, 2012), no. 157, p. 177

Exhibition History

  • Edvard Munch: Master Printmaker, Harvard University Art Museums, Busch-Reisinger Museum, 10/06/1983 - 11/27/1983; Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase, 01/29/1984 - 03/25/1984

Related Works

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of European and American Art at am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu