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Head and torso of a nude woman with her arms behind her

Shown from the waist up, a nude woman tilts her head back and to the right, while her torso leans to the left. She holds her right arm up behind her head, and her left down and behind her back, her long dark hair falling around her to her waist. Her dark eyes are heavy-lidded and her mouth is slightly open. Rhythmic lines echo the outline of her head and raised elbow, radiating out above her. The whole image is framed by a border at left, top and right that shows a motif of spermatozoa and a small fetus at the lower left corner.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
M20227
People
Edvard Munch, Norwegian (Loiten, Norway 1863 - 1944 Ekely, Norway)
Title
Madonna
Other Titles
Series/Book Title: The Mirror
Classification
Prints
Work Type
print
Date
1895
Culture
Norwegian
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/253506

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Lithograph printed in black ink on gray-green wove paper mounted by the artist on coarse brown paper
Technique
Lithograph
Dimensions
sheet: 59.2 x 43.6 cm (23 5/16 x 17 3/16 in.)
mount: 71 x 67 cm (27 15/16 x 26 3/8 in.)
Inscriptions and Marks
  • inscription: lower margin of mounting paper below the right corner of the printing sheet, graphite: Edv Munch 1897
  • collector's mark: lower margin of mounting paper below and to the left of the left corner of the printing sheet, red stamp: H S [monogram; Heinrich Stinnes (Lugt 1376a)]

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
[Kaare Bertsen A/S, Oslo, 1983].

State, Edition, Standard Reference Number

State
Woll A/D 1/2
Standard Reference Number
Woll 39, Schiefler 33

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Purchase through the generosity of Lynn and Philip A. Straus, Class of 1937
Object Number
M20227
Division
European and American Art
Contact
am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Publication History

  • 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
  • Kristin A. Mortimer and William G. Klingelhofer, Harvard University Art Museums: A Guide to the Collections, Harvard University Art Museums and Abbeville Press (Cambridge and New York, 1986), no. 390, p. 326, repr.
  • Gerd Woll, Edvard Munch: The Complete Graphic Works, Orfeus Publishing (Oslo, 2012), no. 39, p. 67
  • Giulia Bartrum, Munch and his World: Graphic Arts and the Avant-garde in Paris and Berlin, Trustees of the British Museum (London, 2022), pp. 8-9, repr. as fig. 7 on p. 8 [not Harvard impression, related bibliography]

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
  • 32Q: 2700 Impressionism, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 08/11/2016 - 03/16/2017
  • 32Q: 3620 University Study Gallery, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 01/20/2024 - 05/05/2024

Subjects and Contexts

  • Collection Highlights

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