‘The high drama of these works is enhanced by the deeply saturated hues that define the trees, fruits, and fields as well as by the passionate strokes of a pigment-loaded brush.’
Epletre i hagen på Ekely (Apple Tree in the Garden at Ekely) was painted, as the title suggests, at Edvard Munch’s estate in Ekely at Skøyen, not far from Kristiania, modern day Oslo. Munch purchased the estate in 1916 and it was here that the artist would spend the rest of his life and whose idyllic setting would provide the subject for numerous compositions. Painted with a palette defined by vivid colour and warm tones, Epletre i hagen på Ekely is characterised by an unusual feeling of optimism, reflecting the artist’s recently restored health. In these so-called ‘garden paintings’ of the late 1920s and 1930s, nature appears as a positive force, in contrast to the brooding night sky paintings of previous years, as art historian Elizabeth Prelinger explains: ‘Ultimately, the apple tree pictures suggest unity between nature and humanity as opposed to the distance and alienation expressed by the Starry Night scenes.’ (E. Prelinger, ibid., p. 135).
Although Munch dated the work to around 1930, scholar Gerd Woll has suggested that it is more likely that Epletre i hagen på Ekely was painted in 1928-29. The reason for this being that the structure visible in the background appears to be Munch’s old studio, which he had rebuilt in 1929. This later studio is evident in another painting of the apple tree residing in the Munch museum in Oslo (fig. 1).
With eleven acres of grounds, Ekely provided ample resources and artistic inspiration. In addition to sweeping farmland and an elm forest, Ekely offered an orchard of apple trees, as depicted in the present painting. Much as Monet returned to his waterlilies at Giverny, so Munch returned to the bucolic environs of Ekely. Prelinger has elaborated upon the importance of Ekely to the artist and the similarities shared between the two painters’ approach to revisiting themes: 'Ekely became for Munch what the villa and garden at Giverny meant for the Impressionist painter Claude Monet: a rich source of inspiration for his art and nourishment for his soul. Drawing upon the many vistas throughout Ekely, Munch replaced the cycle of human emotional experience - the frequent subject of his early art - with the age-old tradition of celebrating the grand cycle of life as seen through the seasons and seasonal activities. Although many of the images seem like simple depictions of simple activities, they are layered with the issues that the artist had been confronting since returning to Norway. These include the politics of subject matter and painting style' (E. Prelinger, ibid., p. 51).
The apple tree was already a key recurring motif in the artist’s œuvre prior to his move to Ekely. It appeared frequently under various guises, somet.mes s proffering shade for recurring characters in Munch’s narratives, somet.mes s as a means of explicitly presenting the story of Adam and Eve and somet.mes s on its own, as in the present work. Figures slip in and out of the apple tree compositions, some are added and some painted out at later dates by the artist. The concern of populating these pictures clearly held considerable significance for the artist. Growing up in a devoutly Christian household, with a father whose religious devotion bordered on the extreme, Munch often found his dreams spliced with Christian iconography and a pervading fear of eternal damnation. The apple tree therefore plays a layered role within Munch’s art. Even in the present work, with its deliberate absence of human presence, the tree obtains a wealth of significance beyond its outward appearance, as was often the case with Munch’s paintings: 'One must paint from memory. Nature is merely the means. They want the painter to transmit information simply as if he were the camera. Whether or not a painting looks like that landscape is beside the point. Explaining a picture is impossible. The very reason it has been painted is because it cannot be explained any other way [...]. If one wishes to paint that first pale blue morning atmosphere that made such an impression, one cannot simply sit down, stare at each object and paint them exactly as one sees them. They must be painted as they were when that motif made such a vivid impression' (Munch quoted in Sue Prideaux, Edvard Munch: Behind the Scream, London, 2005, p. 201). In the present work Munch paints the tree as he sees it in his garden, replete with symbolic associations.
EDVARD MUNCH’S APPLE TREES
‘Northern colour - think of Edvard Munch, Walter Sickert, Max Beckmann and Marsden Hartley, among the modernists - tends toward sharper contrasts and more theatrical densities. In climates where the brilliancy of the sun is a fugitive experience for much of the year, its pictorial representation is often endowed with a psychological intensity that is alien to Southern sensibilities.’
For Munch, the apple tree represented the loss of innocence and the orchard of Ekely became a personal paradise. As the artist’s work was coming under the increasing fire of National Socialism in Germany, Ekely provided solace and respite in which the artist could paint freely. The apple tree here is the focal point of the composition, just off centre and bearing numerous globes of fruit, it dominates the composition. Munch’s studio is only just visible through the tangle of branches. The vibrant palette of the present painting is characteristic of the artist’s work in this period and lends an optimism to the composition that intensifies the mania of the swirling strokes of paint and frenzied brushstrokes: ‘[...] the artist focused on the extraordinary abundance of the trees, whose branches sag under the weight of the fruit. Saturated blues and greens express a delight in the sun, growth, and rebirth that recalls Munch’s stat.mes nt about his early painting Spring, that it represented the “longing of the mortally ill for light and warmth”’ (E. Prelinger, op. cit., p. 116). Here, the juxtaposition between the seemingly bright and pastoral scene and the avant-garde handling of the medium, create a powerful sense of regenerative energy.
Munch’s mark making often tells the story of his works creation, just as it delineates the subject matter. Epletre i hagen på Ekely is self-consciously painterly. Rich swathes of impasto complement deliberately translucent layers of oil paint and the visible areas of primed canvas reveal Munch’s radical re-envisioning of what the surface of a painting ought to look like. Works such as the present, with their frenetic brushstrokes and emphatic application of colour, recall the expressive handling of the Die Brucke movement and anticipate the works of the Abstract Expressionists (fig. 10).
Painted with thick, loose brushstrokes of rich colour, Epletre i hagen på Ekely is an evocative example of Edvard Munch’s mature vision, both in style and subject matter. Epletre i hagen på Ekely has been in major Norwegian collects
ions, having once belonged to Munch’s friend Rolf Hansen, whom the artist painted in 1943. It was later owned by Ragnar Moltzau, an astute collects
or of radical modern artists such as Cézanne, Picasso, Soutine and Modigliani to name a few, and a particular supporter of Edvard Munch. Epletre i hagen på Ekely has been in the same private family collects
ion since the 1960s.