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A couple embrace inside a dark flower shape

Dark, heavily textured lines and shading depict two standing nude figures who embrace inside the petals of an enormous flower. Seen in three quarter profile facing each other, a man, at left looks into the eyes of a woman. In his left hand he holds her wrist up by his shoulder, while his right is curled around her back. She looks back at him, tilting her head back slightly, her hair falling down past her shoulders. The petals of the flower surround them on either side and behind them and shading indicates large rocks below them.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
M20229
People
Edvard Munch, Norwegian (Loiten, Norway 1863 - 1944 Ekely, Norway)
Title
The Flower of Love
Other Titles
Series/Book Title: The Mirror
Original Language Title: Kjærlighetsblomsten
Classification
Prints
Work Type
print
Date
1896
Culture
Norwegian
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/253508

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Lithograph printed in black ink on white China paper, mounted by the artist on a sheet of coarse brown paper
Technique
Lithograph
Dimensions
sheet: 58.2 × 27.7 cm (22 15/16 × 10 7/8 in.)
Inscriptions and Marks
  • collector's mark: lower left corner of brown mounting paper, blurred through conservation procedure: H S [monogram; Heinrich Stinnes (Lugt 1376a)]
  • inscription: on brown mounting sheet just below the lower right corner of the printing paper, graphite: Edv. Munch 1897

Provenance

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

State, Edition, Standard Reference Number

State
Woll a/b only state
Standard Reference Number
Woll 80, Schiefler 70

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
M20229
Division
European and American Art
Contact
am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
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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

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