Munch Museum ( no, Munch-museet), marketed as Munch (stylised as MUNCH) since 2020, is an

art museum An art museum or art gallery is a building or space for the display of art, usually from the museum's own Collection (artwork), collection. It might be in public or private ownership and may be accessible to all or have restrictions in place. A ...

in Bjørvika,

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

dedicated to the life and works of the Norwegian artist

Edvard Munch Edvard Munch ( , ; 12 December 1863 – 23 January 1944) was a Norwegian painter. His best known work, ''The Scream'' (1893), has become one of Western art's most iconic images. His childhood was overshadowed by illness, bereavement and the dr ...

. The museum was originally located at

Tøyen Tøyen is a residential area in the central parts of Oslo, Norway, part of the borough of Gamle Oslo. Location There are two different stations which carry the name Tøyen. Tøyen Railway Station is located on the Gjøvik Line, while Tøyen ...

, which was opened in 1963. The museum moved to the new museum building at Bjørvika, which was opened in 22 October 2021.

Selected collection highlights

Edvard Munch - The Scream - Google Art Project.jpg, ''The Scream'' Edvard Munch - Anxiety - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Anxiety'' Edvard Munch - The Seine at Saint-Cloud - Google Art Project.jpg, ''The Seine at Saint-Cloud''

History

Original museum

The original Munch Museum was situated at

in the Oslo borough of Gamle Oslo. Construction of the museum was financed from the profits generated by the Oslo municipal cinemas and opened its doors in 1963 to commemorate what would have been Munch's 100th birthday. Its collection consists of works and articles by Munch, which he donated to the municipality of Oslo upon his death, and additional works donated by his sister Inger Munch, as well as various other works obtained through trades of including duplicate prints. The museum had in its permanent collection well over half of the artist's entire production of paintings and at least one copy of all his prints. This amounted to over 1,200 paintings, 18,000 prints, six sculptures, as well as 500 plates, 2,240 books, and various other items. The museum also contained educational and conservation sections, and has facilities for the performing arts. Munch-museet-jody

The museum structure was designed by architects

Einar Myklebust Einar Frithjof Myklebust (17 May 1922 – 9 June 2017), was a Norwegian architect and professor at NTH (now ( NTNU). Einar Myklebust worked between 1953–1964 together with the architect Gunnar Fougner. He was professor from 1964–1970 ...

and

Gunnar Fougner Gunnar Fougner (January 5, 1911 – October 20, 1995) was a Norwegian architect. Gunnar Fougner was born in Lillehammer, Norway. He attended the Norwegian Institute of Technology in Trondheim where he graduated in 1934. Fougner began his fir ...

. Myklebust also played an important role in the expansion and renovation of the museum in 1994 for the 50th anniversary of Munch's death. This site has also been the location of filming for an '' Olsenbanden''-movie from 1984. The last exhibition of the museum while at Tøyen, Oslo was opened in May 2021, which lasted until 1 October.

Current museum

Previously, in 2008, the City of Oslo promoted an architectural competition for a new Munch Museum in the area of Bjørvika, a new urban development where the

Oslo Opera House The Oslo Opera House ( no, Operahuset) is the home of the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet, and the national opera theatre in Norway. The building is situated in the Bjørvika neighbourhood of central Oslo, at the head of the Oslofjord. It is ...

is also located. The competition was won in 2009 by Spanish architect

Juan Herreros Juan Herreros (born 1958 in San Lorenzo del Escorial) is a Spanish architect. His work promotes a pragmatic review of the tradition of modern architecture. Biography He graduated in 1985 at the Technical School of Architecture of Madrid wher ...

and his studio Herreros Arquitectos (now estudio Herreros). Before the local election in Oslo in 2011, the Oslo Progress Party decided that they would no longer support the project due to economic concerns. After the election, in December 2011, the Oslo City Council voted to end the project. Instead the council wanted to consider improving the current museum or moving the collection to

Nasjonalgalleriet The National Gallery ( no, Nasjonalgalleriet) is a gallery in Oslo, Norway. Since 2003 it is administratively a part of the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design. , the admission cost is 100 Norwegian kroner. History It was establishe ...

. In May 2013, the Oslo City Council finally took the decision to revive the project, and move the museum to its new site on the waterfront, next to the Oslo Opera House. Construction started during September 2015. The new museum has been widely criticised for its design, where it has been branded the unofficial worlds largest collection of guard rails. In summer 2021, 28000 pieces of art was moved from the previous museum at Tøyen, to the new museum at Bjørvika, Oslo. The museum was opened by the

King Harald V Harald V ( no, Harald den femte, ; born 21 February 1937) is King of Norway. He acceded to the throne on 17 January 1991. Harald was the third child and only son of King Olav V of Norway and Princess Märtha of Sweden. He was second in the lin ...

in October 22 2021.

2004 armed robbery of two paintings

Edvard Munch - The Scream - Google Art Project

On Sunday, 22 August 2004, two paintings by Munch, ''

The Scream ''The Scream'' is a composition created by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch in 1893. The agonized face in the painting has become one of the most iconic images of art, seen as symbolizing the anxiety of the human condition. Munch's work, including ...

'' and ''

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

'', were stolen from the Munch Museum by armed robbers who forced the museum guards to lie on the floor while they snapped the cable securing the paintings to the wall. The paintings were recovered by

Oslo Police Oslo Police District (Norwegian: ''Oslo politidistrikt'') is the largest police district in Norway. The Police District of Asker og Bærum and Oslo Police District are from January 1, 2016 merged into one, Police Districts Asker and Bærum and Osl ...

on 31 August 2006. ''Munch museum to improve security'' (Det Norske Veritas)

References

Other sources

*Eggum, Arne; Gerd Woll, Marit Lande ''Munch At The Munch Museum'' (Scala Publishers, 2005) *Langaard, Johan H. ''Edvard Munch: Masterpieces from the artist's collection in the Munch Museum in Oslo'' (McGraw-Hill. 1964)

External links

Munch-museet websiteMunch Museum
within Google Arts & Culture * {{Authority control (arts) Museums in Oslo Art museums and galleries in Norway Modernist architecture in Norway Art museums established in 1963 1963 establishments in Norway Biographical museums in Norway Museums devoted to one artist Edvard Munch