Description
"This was an intense period in Edvard Munch’s life. In summer 1905, he escaped briefly to Copenhagen from Norway, after engaging in a notorious fight with his Norwegian artist colleagues Ludvig Karsten and Andreas Haukland. In the midst of this crisis, he received a letter from Ernest Thiel asking him to paint a posthumous portrait of the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. The idea had been broached by Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche, the philosopher’s sister in Weimar, Germany, and it was she who put them in touch with each other. Thiel already owned works by Munch, but the portrait of Nietzsche marked an increased interest, and he bought several paintings and a large number of prints. This boosted Munch’s financial position considerably, and it is said that the price of Munch’s art went up after Thiel’s patronage. The Thiel Gallery collection chronicles this eventful time in Munch’s life, with portraits of the artist Karsten, the philosopher Nietzsche, and his sister Förster-Nietzsche."
Text: Patrik Steorn
Bibliography
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