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Mystical Shore

Edvard Munch Norwegian
1897
Not on view
By employing the same kind of mark to describe both the sky and the sea in Mystical Shore, Munch diminishes the function of the horizon line, which inmost seascapes would have differentiated between scenic elements. Instead, the viewer’s perspective is presented as a total yet spiritual view onto the world. Munch included his strange melded representation of the moon and its light across a number of paintings and prints; in this instance it serves to vertically stabilize the image against its horizontal spread of nocturnal green light. Mystical Shore most likely references Norway’s Oslofjord as seen from the port town of Åsgårdstrand, where Munch bought a summer home the year this print was made.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Mystical Shore
  • Artist: Edvard Munch (Norwegian, Løten 1863–1944 Ekely)
  • Date: 1897
  • Medium: Woodcut printed in green; third state of five (Woll)
  • Dimensions: Plate: 14 11/16 × 22 1/2 in. (37.3 × 57.1 cm)
    Sheet: 19 in. × 26 3/8 in. (48.3 × 67 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: Bequest of Scofield Thayer, 1982
  • Object Number: 1984.1203.9
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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Andreas Schwarz, Edvard Munch Norwegian, Drypoint; first state of two (Woll)
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Herbert Esche's Daughter, Edvard Munch Norwegian, Drypoint in greyish black ink
Herbert Esche's Daughter
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Pernille Kirkeby II (Little Norwegian Girl Running), Edvard Munch Norwegian, Lithograph
Pernille Kirkeby II (Little Norwegian Girl Running)
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1908–9
Reclining Nude I
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The Pretenders: The Last Hour, Edvard Munch Norwegian, Woodcut
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