Edvard Munch’s Masterpieces from Bergen

It’s a collection of backrooms that house another staging of Edvard Munch in London. This is the second of his exhibitions here in as many years, after Tracey Emin’s joint show at the Royal Academy last year. Within the confines of the Denise Coates galleries, though, this staging is a different (infinitely smaller) and, therefore, perfectly acceptable booking. Don’t expect The Scream. You didn’t get one at the RA either… or anywhere else outside Oslo, for that matter. Instead, you get an eighteen-piece collection of highlights from the KODE museum in Bergen, whose assortment of Munchs were assembled by industrialist and art collector Rasmus Meyer at the start of the last century… that, importantly, is what the exhibition’s name refers to (in fact, I don’t remember a depiction of Bergen anywhere).

This ‘best of’ selection – Edvard Munch. Masterpieces from Bergen – starts in 1880, with his impressionist-inspired realist works. It then moves on to his characteristic expressionism, finishing with two highlights: Children Playing in the Street in Åsgårdstrand and the haunting ‘Frieze of Life’ series. As you’d hope, we get it all: the melancholy, thoughtfulness, happiness and morbidity. All that summed up the 80-year life of Norway’s national painter, reigning supreme, both in his life (from 1863 to 1944), and in his legacy.

“We get it all: the melancholy, thoughtfulness, happiness and morbidity. All that summed up the 80-year life of Norway’s national painter, reigning supreme, both in life and legacy.”

I’d already seen the pieces of this collection, together with their multitude of contemporaries, in Bergen. I know, given their relatively remote hometown, I was lucky. But there’s no denying, touring the lush expanse of KODE was a world away from stalling through an ill lit, cramped annex. Publicity was fine, if a little limited. The price, certainly, was inexpensive, particularly as it gave you access to the main collection too. Oh, and, on that, entering the exhibition through the institution’s own collection of expressionism was an undeniably nice touch.

But there’s no escaping the show itself was just a little underwhelming. I fully accept this is the first time a good chunk of the KODE collection has travelled outside Bergen, and I thank the two cities for introducing these works to a new audience. The carefully selected assortment, too, is, I fully appreciate, perfectly designed to act as a journey through Munch’s experimentation (he even dabbled in pointillism for a brief moment… who knew?!). But the fact remains, if you want real Munch, there’s no choice but to go to Norway. I know I sound grumpy, and I don’t ask you to miss this. But, for the full (albeit unrefined) Monty, visit Bergen, see these paintings in their natural home, and make a weekend break of it.

Edvard Munch: Masterpieces from Bergen is at the Courtauld Gallery in London until 4th September.

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Read more about Norway’s disproportionate art heritage through this post for Norwegian National Day last year…