Madonna

Madonna

1895/1902

Lithograph on paper

Tryckyta 60,50 x 44,50 cm Papper 86,60 x 59,10 cm

G 128/1912

Purchase, 1912

From the book “The Collection: The Gothenburg Museum of Art”, Gothenburg 2014: The lithograph Madonna is a frightening image of woman as seductress. A nude female figure is depicted with closed eyes and head thrown back in pleasure, surrounded by a border of sperm and a hollow-eyed foetus that seems to cast a horrified glance at his mother. For Munch, she is not only the one who gives life; death is also inscribed in the very act of love. The woman attracts and seduces the man, who worships her. The result is fertilization, life itself—but also death, because life is finite. Munch’s ambivalent attitude towards women finds powerful expression here. The woman in the picture is reminiscent of the violinist Eva Mudocci, whom Munch met in Paris and had an affair with for two years. She was his model for several works. Kristoffer Arvidsson

Göteborg, Göteborgs konstmuseum, 14/04/2012 - 10/06/2012 Göteborg, Göteborgs konstmuseum, 28/09/2002 - 06/01/2003, no. 59 Åbo, Åbo Konstmuseum, 19/09/1991 - 27/10/1991

Lena Boëthius, Björn Fredlund, Marit Ingeborg Lange, Axel L Romdahl, Edvard Munch, red. Björn Fredlund, Göteborgs konstmuseum, 2002., no. 59, p. 126, 128, ill. p. 126 Kristoffer Arvidsson, Per Dahlström, Björn Fredlund, Anna Hyltze, Philippa Nanfeldt, Isabella Nilsson, Johan Sjöström, Samlingen Göteborgs konstmuseum, red. Kristoffer Arvidsson, Per Dahlström, Anna Hyltze, Göteborgs konstmuseum, Göteborg 2014., p. 249, ill. p. 248 Art Nouveau. Från Larssons till Zappa., red.., ill. p. 143