1889 was a difficult year for the artist, he was seriously ill, but after an illness, while recovering, he wrote a very autobiographical and dense “Spring”. It combines memories of both her own illness and her sister’s illness, which took her to the grave. This work showed the mature artistic skill of Edvard Munch, for which the artist was awarded a state scholarship, thanks to which he was able to travel to Paris.
The picture is filled with a large number of interior items that bring the work closer to realism. As in the painting “Sick Girl”, the main artistic image is a sick girl. Her very pale face, which even the snow-white pillow cannot shade, contrasts with the healthy blush of the woman sitting next to her, her mother. Evidence of the young girl’s illness – a bottle of potion and a round decanter of water are opposed to the sunlight pouring out of the window in abundance. A fresh breeze blowing over the light curtains contrasts with the gloomy, heavy atmosphere in the room.
Spring is Munch’s most significant work of that period. On this canvas, the lightness and freshness of impressionism meets the precision and detail of naturalism. Dark, heavy tones on the left side of the picture, personifying fear, illness, despair, coexist with light, light in the right, which give hope and faith in good.
Year of painting: 1889.
Dimensions of the painting: 169 x 263.5 cm.
Material: canvas.
Writing technique: oil.
Genre: genre painting.
Style: expressionism.
Gallery: National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Oslo, Norway.