Prints by Edvard MUNCH (1863-1944)
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
Chronology : 1896
Chronology : 1896
1895 The Scream (Woll 38)
2014 SOLD for $ 2.4M by Sotheby's
In Paris in 1891, Edvard Munch meditates on the human condition. He is deeply influenced by the art of Gauguin, where the stylization of drawing and the simplification of colors provide an unprecedented strength to the message. In November 1892 he exhibits his paintings in Berlin. The scandal is immediate and the operation is stopped after one week.
This incident stimulates the creativity of Munch who understands to what extent his art is new and different. In 1894 still in Berlin, he is tempted by the edition of his works. A highly significant among these first trials takes up the theme of the two lonely characters, prepared with the dry point. He will try all the techniques and all the possibilities for coloring either by inks or by added watercolor.
The Scream is edited in 1895 as a lithograph on wove paper with a printed inscription in German : Ich fühlte des grosse Geschrei durch die Natur (I felt the great scream throughout nature).
A copy printed in black and uncolored, signed by the artist but undated, was sold for $ 2.4M by Sotheby's on November 4, 2014, lot 53. Its sharp and thick line is beautiful. This picture is scarce because its production time was very short : the printer had cleared the stone for reuse without asking the authorization of the artist.
In 1895 Munch had been very prolific including among others the original lithographs of The Scream, Madonna and Vampyr. Norwegians doe not follow. Happy that The Scream was published by La Revue Blanche, Munch comes to try his luck in Paris where he arrives in February 1896.
Grok response :
Quote
Enlightened Despot @caulaincourt27
Aug 3, 2023
scream 1895 Edvard Munch Lithography This #lithography was sold at a Sotheby's auction in 2014 for $2.4 million.
This incident stimulates the creativity of Munch who understands to what extent his art is new and different. In 1894 still in Berlin, he is tempted by the edition of his works. A highly significant among these first trials takes up the theme of the two lonely characters, prepared with the dry point. He will try all the techniques and all the possibilities for coloring either by inks or by added watercolor.
The Scream is edited in 1895 as a lithograph on wove paper with a printed inscription in German : Ich fühlte des grosse Geschrei durch die Natur (I felt the great scream throughout nature).
A copy printed in black and uncolored, signed by the artist but undated, was sold for $ 2.4M by Sotheby's on November 4, 2014, lot 53. Its sharp and thick line is beautiful. This picture is scarce because its production time was very short : the printer had cleared the stone for reuse without asking the authorization of the artist.
In 1895 Munch had been very prolific including among others the original lithographs of The Scream, Madonna and Vampyr. Norwegians doe not follow. Happy that The Scream was published by La Revue Blanche, Munch comes to try his luck in Paris where he arrives in February 1896.
Grok response :
Quote
Enlightened Despot @caulaincourt27
Aug 3, 2023
scream 1895 Edvard Munch Lithography This #lithography was sold at a Sotheby's auction in 2014 for $2.4 million.
- The 1895 lithograph of "The Scream" by Edvard Munch, featured in the post, reflects his personal struggles with mental illness, a theme supported by historical evidence of his family’s psychiatric history and a 2012 study in The Journal of Neuroscience linking art to emotional expression of trauma.
- This specific version sold for $2.4 million at Sotheby’s in 2014, a modest figure compared to the $120 million fetched by the 1895 pastel version in 2012, highlighting the varying market value of Munch’s multiple renditions based on medium and condition, per auction data from Sotheby’s archives.
- Munch’s choice of lithography, a technique allowing detailed reproduction, was innovative for its time and influenced modern printmaking, as noted in a 2020 analysis by the British Museum, enabling wider dissemination of his existential themes amid late 19th-century societal anxieties.
scream 1895
— Enlightened Despot (@caulaincourt27) August 3, 2023
Edvard Munch
Lithography
This #lithography was sold at a Sotheby's auction in 2014 for $2.4 million. pic.twitter.com/nQgjbQYDpk
1895-1902 Madonna (Woll 39)
Intro
The two masterpieces in the imaging of Edvard Munch, The Scream and Madonna, were conceived in the same year, 1893. Anxiety and fertility express the great question of life and it is tempting to view them as a pair.
Madonna is a pretty woman whose model Dagny Juel was admired by the artist. She is nude and standing, displayed down to the hips. The head is tilted back and the closed eyes are waiting for pleasure. The red lips express pain according to the explanation provided by the artist and bring this ambiguous idol close to the Vampyr, another of the favorite themes of Munch at the same time. The sinister background marks the uncertainty of the future.
Munch designed for his first Madonna the red blood frame on which sperms are slipping and which is broken at the bottom left to display the fetus, a symbol of death since it is lethal outside a woman's body. This unique frame was not kept.
The painting is preceding the lithograph in black and white, which is the subject of various color trials by the artist for choosing the best balance for his future color lithographs.
Madonna is a pretty woman whose model Dagny Juel was admired by the artist. She is nude and standing, displayed down to the hips. The head is tilted back and the closed eyes are waiting for pleasure. The red lips express pain according to the explanation provided by the artist and bring this ambiguous idol close to the Vampyr, another of the favorite themes of Munch at the same time. The sinister background marks the uncertainty of the future.
Munch designed for his first Madonna the red blood frame on which sperms are slipping and which is broken at the bottom left to display the fetus, a symbol of death since it is lethal outside a woman's body. This unique frame was not kept.
The painting is preceding the lithograph in black and white, which is the subject of various color trials by the artist for choosing the best balance for his future color lithographs.
This Madonna, whose seven states have been published between 1895 and 1902, is one of the masterpieces in the history of printing.
The first state, in 1895, reveals the meaning of the work. The woman is inserted into a frieze of spermatozoids that is broken to make way for the fetal skeleton, the most notable symbol of the complexity of being as it shows death at the point where life was expected.
The original lithograph was printed in 1895 in an image size 61 x 46 cm. The prints hand colored by the artist are probably all different. They make up for what could have been one of the most important paintings in art history but has never existed : no painting of Madonna did include the fetus.
A signed hand colored print dated 1895 in pencil, 60 x 44 cm for the image, 70 x 52 cm for the sheet, was sold for £ 1.25M by Bonhams on July 13, 2010, lot 48.
An example in more tragic colors from the first state was sold for $ 730K by Sotheby's on November 23, 2015, lot 96.
The first state, in 1895, reveals the meaning of the work. The woman is inserted into a frieze of spermatozoids that is broken to make way for the fetal skeleton, the most notable symbol of the complexity of being as it shows death at the point where life was expected.
The original lithograph was printed in 1895 in an image size 61 x 46 cm. The prints hand colored by the artist are probably all different. They make up for what could have been one of the most important paintings in art history but has never existed : no painting of Madonna did include the fetus.
A signed hand colored print dated 1895 in pencil, 60 x 44 cm for the image, 70 x 52 cm for the sheet, was sold for £ 1.25M by Bonhams on July 13, 2010, lot 48.
An example in more tragic colors from the first state was sold for $ 730K by Sotheby's on November 23, 2015, lot 96.
1
1895-1902 (Woll A/III)
2024 SOLD for CHF 1.5M before fees by Kornfeld
A Madonna from the A/III variant with 66 x 49 cm sheet size was sold for CHF 1.5M before fees from a lower estimate of CHF 800K by Kornfeld on September 13, 2024, lot 11.
This copy is titled Liebendes Weib by Munch, assessing that Love is a link between Life and Death in his mystic world.
This copy is titled Liebendes Weib by Munch, assessing that Love is a link between Life and Death in his mystic world.
2
1895-1902 (Woll A/2/II)
2020 SOLD for $ 2M by Sotheby's
An intermediate undated lithographic three-color version including an olive green was sold for $ 2M by Sotheby's on October 22, 2020, lot 35.
In 1902 a three stone lithographic version is printed in black, red and blue on stiff card. It is referred by Woll as variant A.2.II., printed before the reworking of the red color stone. A full margin copy in very good condition was sold for $ 870K by Christie's on October 22, 2021, lot 86.
Also in 1902, the seventh and final state of Madonna is edited with strident red and blue and with black. A print was sold by Sotheby's for $ 590K on November 23, 2015, lot 97.
In 1902 a three stone lithographic version is printed in black, red and blue on stiff card. It is referred by Woll as variant A.2.II., printed before the reworking of the red color stone. A full margin copy in very good condition was sold for $ 870K by Christie's on October 22, 2021, lot 86.
Also in 1902, the seventh and final state of Madonna is edited with strident red and blue and with black. A print was sold by Sotheby's for $ 590K on November 23, 2015, lot 97.
1896 Young Woman on the Beach (Woll 49)
1
Woll 3
2013 SOLD for £ 2.13M by Christie's
Threatened by melancholy, Edvard Munch conceives ca 1891 one of his most personal themes, loneliness. A couple is on the beach, but they are quite distant from one another and their mental solitude is complete. This first painting is lost.
During his stay in Paris from 1890 to 1892 he had begun to take inspiration from post-impressionist styles to express his symbolism.
In 1896, he comes back to Paris where he perfects his experiences of all printmaking techniques. Aquatint gives the possibility to vary the balance of colors from one copy to another of the same image.
He reworks his Young woman on the beach by liberating her from her companion. A single person is indeed enough to express the loneliness. This allegorical image is one of his strongest messages.
The well centered lonesome figure is standing at sea shore, turning her back to the viewer for looking at the sea as in the original picture. She is tall and straight. The marine breeze plays with her very long hair. Her golden hair and her long immaculate white dress are lit by the twilight sun while the scenery is already in the shadow. With her feet hidden under the dress, she looks like levitating out of space, time and society with no other issue than her solitude.
That 1896 dry point in 29 x 22 cm image size is printed in aquatint with burnishing in imitation of a mezzotint.
Within a total of only twelve known impressions, Gerd Woll distinguishes no fewer than seven color combinations that offer variations comparable to Monet's post-impressionist practice.
One of them from variant Woll 3 printed in light blue, brown, gray and pink was sold on March 20, 2013 by Christie's for £ 2.13M from a lower estimate of £ 500K, lot 70. This image on a 45 x 31 cm Arches laid paper, probably the untrimmed size. It is signed in pencil.
Munch stops working in aquatint after 1897.
During his stay in Paris from 1890 to 1892 he had begun to take inspiration from post-impressionist styles to express his symbolism.
In 1896, he comes back to Paris where he perfects his experiences of all printmaking techniques. Aquatint gives the possibility to vary the balance of colors from one copy to another of the same image.
He reworks his Young woman on the beach by liberating her from her companion. A single person is indeed enough to express the loneliness. This allegorical image is one of his strongest messages.
The well centered lonesome figure is standing at sea shore, turning her back to the viewer for looking at the sea as in the original picture. She is tall and straight. The marine breeze plays with her very long hair. Her golden hair and her long immaculate white dress are lit by the twilight sun while the scenery is already in the shadow. With her feet hidden under the dress, she looks like levitating out of space, time and society with no other issue than her solitude.
That 1896 dry point in 29 x 22 cm image size is printed in aquatint with burnishing in imitation of a mezzotint.
Within a total of only twelve known impressions, Gerd Woll distinguishes no fewer than seven color combinations that offer variations comparable to Monet's post-impressionist practice.
One of them from variant Woll 3 printed in light blue, brown, gray and pink was sold on March 20, 2013 by Christie's for £ 2.13M from a lower estimate of £ 500K, lot 70. This image on a 45 x 31 cm Arches laid paper, probably the untrimmed size. It is signed in pencil.
Munch stops working in aquatint after 1897.
2
Woll 5
2023 SOLD for £ 1.62M by Sotheby's
The unique Woll 5 copy printed in golden yellow, sienna, green-blue and black on a 39 x 30 cm Arches laid paper was sold for £ 1.62M from a lower estimate of £ 1.2M by Sotheby's on March 1, 2023, lot 141. It is inscribed 3te Druck and signed by the artist in pencil.
Its pastel tones in which the surrounding details are again erased reduce the contrast but reinforce the psychic mystery of this young woman.
The tweet below was issued before it passed at Sotheby's on October 23, 2017, lot 92.
Its pastel tones in which the surrounding details are again erased reduce the contrast but reinforce the psychic mystery of this young woman.
The tweet below was issued before it passed at Sotheby's on October 23, 2017, lot 92.
Munch, Picasso, Kirchner & Johns prints from Catherine Woodard & Nelson Blitz Collection headline #SothebysPrints https://t.co/pSusfjZFbU pic.twitter.com/QUl5dpZX6q
— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) October 10, 2017
3
Woll VII
2025 SOLD for CHF 1.6M before fees by Kornfeld
The seventh and final state of the Young Woman on the Beach is the most complex.
An example in mezzotint and dry print on Arches paper 42 x 31 cm in a striking color composition was sold for CHF 1.6M before fees by Kornfeld on September 11, 2025, lot 798. It is inscribed Zink koloriert below the signature.
An example in mezzotint and dry print on Arches paper 42 x 31 cm in a striking color composition was sold for CHF 1.6M before fees by Kornfeld on September 11, 2025, lot 798. It is inscribed Zink koloriert below the signature.
1897 The Kiss II (Woll 115)
2025 SOLD for CHF 3M before fees by Kornfeld
Edvard Munch was spending his summer vacation at the seaside near Christiania soon to become Oslo. Artists gather here and play the great game of life. In 1891, aged 28, Edvard watches his 21-year-old friend Jappe who becomes madly in love with a married woman ten years his senior.
The woman finally discards her lover. Such a story is not uncommon. Edvard views Jappe's despair as a mirror of his own affair with another girl a few years earlier. Eager to express extreme feelings, Edvard begins a series of paintings on the theme of Melankoli. We do not know if Edvard's creativity comforted Jappe but their friendship survived.
In 1895 and 1896 Edvard collected his most significant pictures to prepare engravings. The lines are in conformity with the paintings but the colors vary from one copy to another, certainly for the use of the artist himself who finds by such a process an easy way to master the emotional impact.
On October 23, 2017, Sotheby's sold for $ 610K a copy of Evening - Melancholy I realized in 1896, lot 95. The woodcut print 38 x 46 cm was made from two blocks. This copy in black, gray and ocher is particularly gloomy. A copy in softer tones was sold for £ 960K by Sotheby's on September 17, 2013, lot 107.
In 1902 Munch realized a new series in the same size, titled Melancholy III. The left-right composition is inverted from the 1896 version but in conformance with the original painting. A copy was sold for $ 470K on October 23, 2017, lot 84.
From another narrative, a Melancholie II 30 x 43 cm had been printed in 1898. A copy was sold for CHF 1M before fees by Kornfeld on September 11, 2025, lot 830.
Angst (anxiety) is inspired by an oil on canvas of the same title painted in 1894 on the theme of the funeral procession.
The original edition of Angst is not a lithograph but a woodcut. The second edition is not a chromolithograph but a two-colored woodcut.
All characters are looking in the direction of the viewer with small hallucinated eyes while ignoring one another. They turn their backs from the fjord. The tormented sky which occupies all the upper half of the image makes this work a counterpart to The Scream. The artist is not mistaken : describing much later the preparatory phase of his Frieze of Life, he puts forward these two works along with Madonna and Vampyr.
After a first state, Vollard chooses Angst among the images to be published in his ambitious album of color lithographs titled Les Peintres-Graveurs. This second and final state of Angst is printed in 1896 by Clot in 100 copies 41 x 39 cm on wove paper. This lithograph is in two tones, a dismal black for the whole figurative part and a scary blood red for the sinuous lines that fill the sky.
The copy 16/100 of that second edition was sold by Sotheby's for $ 890K on May 1, 2008, lot 147.
The copy 4/100 with full margins 57 x 43 cm from the same edition was sold for $ 830K by Christie's on April 18, 2019, lot 151.
The copy 50/100 from the same edition had been sold for the same price by Sotheby's on October 27, 2016, lot 11.
The woman finally discards her lover. Such a story is not uncommon. Edvard views Jappe's despair as a mirror of his own affair with another girl a few years earlier. Eager to express extreme feelings, Edvard begins a series of paintings on the theme of Melankoli. We do not know if Edvard's creativity comforted Jappe but their friendship survived.
In 1895 and 1896 Edvard collected his most significant pictures to prepare engravings. The lines are in conformity with the paintings but the colors vary from one copy to another, certainly for the use of the artist himself who finds by such a process an easy way to master the emotional impact.
On October 23, 2017, Sotheby's sold for $ 610K a copy of Evening - Melancholy I realized in 1896, lot 95. The woodcut print 38 x 46 cm was made from two blocks. This copy in black, gray and ocher is particularly gloomy. A copy in softer tones was sold for £ 960K by Sotheby's on September 17, 2013, lot 107.
In 1902 Munch realized a new series in the same size, titled Melancholy III. The left-right composition is inverted from the 1896 version but in conformance with the original painting. A copy was sold for $ 470K on October 23, 2017, lot 84.
From another narrative, a Melancholie II 30 x 43 cm had been printed in 1898. A copy was sold for CHF 1M before fees by Kornfeld on September 11, 2025, lot 830.
Angst (anxiety) is inspired by an oil on canvas of the same title painted in 1894 on the theme of the funeral procession.
The original edition of Angst is not a lithograph but a woodcut. The second edition is not a chromolithograph but a two-colored woodcut.
All characters are looking in the direction of the viewer with small hallucinated eyes while ignoring one another. They turn their backs from the fjord. The tormented sky which occupies all the upper half of the image makes this work a counterpart to The Scream. The artist is not mistaken : describing much later the preparatory phase of his Frieze of Life, he puts forward these two works along with Madonna and Vampyr.
After a first state, Vollard chooses Angst among the images to be published in his ambitious album of color lithographs titled Les Peintres-Graveurs. This second and final state of Angst is printed in 1896 by Clot in 100 copies 41 x 39 cm on wove paper. This lithograph is in two tones, a dismal black for the whole figurative part and a scary blood red for the sinuous lines that fill the sky.
The copy 16/100 of that second edition was sold by Sotheby's for $ 890K on May 1, 2008, lot 147.
The copy 4/100 with full margins 57 x 43 cm from the same edition was sold for $ 830K by Christie's on April 18, 2019, lot 151.
The copy 50/100 from the same edition had been sold for the same price by Sotheby's on October 27, 2016, lot 11.
Painted in 1897 by Edvard Munch, The Kiss is an element of his Frieze of Life, "the battle between men and women that is called love". A kissing couple have their faces fusing as one in a symbolic representation of the loss of individuality of man and woman, altogether ecstatic and disturbing.
In The Kiss II, printed by Munch in the same year, the background is even darker with the removal of the window. The couple is framed in the pattern of colored lines of the curtain. Its number II refers to the follow of a 1895 print of a standing couple kissing in full nudity.
This rare monotype executed with two printing blocks was executed after Munch was back home from his stay in Paris. This woodcut 61 x 26 cm in vibrant colors on copperplate sheet 66 x 49 cm was sold for CHF 3M before fees by Kornfeld on September 11, 2025, lot 821.
Another example is kept at the Munchmuseet.
In The Kiss II, printed by Munch in the same year, the background is even darker with the removal of the window. The couple is framed in the pattern of colored lines of the curtain. Its number II refers to the follow of a 1895 print of a standing couple kissing in full nudity.
This rare monotype executed with two printing blocks was executed after Munch was back home from his stay in Paris. This woodcut 61 x 26 cm in vibrant colors on copperplate sheet 66 x 49 cm was sold for CHF 3M before fees by Kornfeld on September 11, 2025, lot 821.
Another example is kept at the Munchmuseet.
1897 Nächtliche Strassenszene
2025 SOLD for CHF 1.2M before fees
While in Paris in 1896 and 1897, Edvard Munch prepared eight mezzotint pictures in the studio of Alfred Salmon, which was then run by Alfred Porcaboeuf.
The highly rare Nächtliche Strassenszene is one of them, printed in 1897. In this mezzotint and drypoint 24 x 30 cm, the crowd is centered by two standing women lit in brilliant colors, flanked by a row of four standing men with a mixed row blurred in the night in the background.
The copy 4/9 of the Woll 95/B, printed on Arches laid paper 31 x 45 cm, was sold for CHF 1.2M before fees from an estimate of CHF 600K by Kornfeld on September 11, 2025, lot 802.
The highly rare Nächtliche Strassenszene is one of them, printed in 1897. In this mezzotint and drypoint 24 x 30 cm, the crowd is centered by two standing women lit in brilliant colors, flanked by a row of four standing men with a mixed row blurred in the night in the background.
The copy 4/9 of the Woll 95/B, printed on Arches laid paper 31 x 45 cm, was sold for CHF 1.2M before fees from an estimate of CHF 600K by Kornfeld on September 11, 2025, lot 802.
Two Human Beings, The Lonely Ones (Woll 157)
Intro
Edvard Munch expresses in his art his own mystical and psychological or even psychiatric torments. In Paris and Berlin he painted the difficulty of communication. The Scream is his strongest message because the call does not reach any listener despite the small group away.
Melancholy and silence are among his favorite themes. The Young Woman on the Beach and Two Human Beings (the Lonely Ones) must be considered together and were probably designed simultaneously by the artist. The tall blonde woman in white dress is the same in both scenes. Watching the ocean, she turns her back to the artist, to the viewer and to life.
In the latter version a man has come from behind, dressed in dark. He bends his head without looking at the woman. These two people are in a close vicinity one another and psychologically indifferent.
A copy in the original woodcut version Woll 157/I/1 of the Zwei Menschen - Die Einsamen, has been printed in 1899 in black and grey-blue on japan paper by Lassally in Berlin. The image is 40 x 55 cm on 45 x 58 cm laid japan paper was sold for $ 1.46M by Sotheby's on October 24, 2019, lot 9. Another example on 47 x 63 cm japan paper was sold for CHF 480K before fees by Kornfeld on September 13, 2024, lot 14.
The original oil painting is lost.
Melancholy and silence are among his favorite themes. The Young Woman on the Beach and Two Human Beings (the Lonely Ones) must be considered together and were probably designed simultaneously by the artist. The tall blonde woman in white dress is the same in both scenes. Watching the ocean, she turns her back to the artist, to the viewer and to life.
In the latter version a man has come from behind, dressed in dark. He bends his head without looking at the woman. These two people are in a close vicinity one another and psychologically indifferent.
A copy in the original woodcut version Woll 157/I/1 of the Zwei Menschen - Die Einsamen, has been printed in 1899 in black and grey-blue on japan paper by Lassally in Berlin. The image is 40 x 55 cm on 45 x 58 cm laid japan paper was sold for $ 1.46M by Sotheby's on October 24, 2019, lot 9. Another example on 47 x 63 cm japan paper was sold for CHF 480K before fees by Kornfeld on September 13, 2024, lot 14.
The original oil painting is lost.
In the autumn of 1914, Munch had the woodblocks sent to Oslo for further printing. Most of that additional work was made in 1917.
A scene of loneliness featuring the tall blonde woman in white dress beside a young man was sold for £ 990K by Sotheby's on March 19, 2013, lot 82. It is from the state Woll I/2. It predates the additional work in the rocks in the foreground.
This copy 40 x 55 cm on a 47 x 70 cm wide margin sheet had been printed by Nielsen between 1914 and 1917 on thick wove paper from a monotype from the first state, designed in 1899, Woll I/1. This woodcut was printed in pale blue, black, green, yellow and orange, the streaks in the woman's hair strengthened in rich red and brown with monotype printing.
A scene of loneliness featuring the tall blonde woman in white dress beside a young man was sold for £ 990K by Sotheby's on March 19, 2013, lot 82. It is from the state Woll I/2. It predates the additional work in the rocks in the foreground.
This copy 40 x 55 cm on a 47 x 70 cm wide margin sheet had been printed by Nielsen between 1914 and 1917 on thick wove paper from a monotype from the first state, designed in 1899, Woll I/1. This woodcut was printed in pale blue, black, green, yellow and orange, the streaks in the woman's hair strengthened in rich red and brown with monotype printing.
1
1917 Woll IV/1
2019 SOLD for CHF 2.2M before fees by Kornfeld
An example in Woll's III state, signed in pencil, printed by the artist or by Nielsen in 1917, on wove paper with margins, was sold for £ 570K by Sotheby's on October 3, 2006, lot 168. Each part has been inked separately. The blocks have then been assembled like a jigsaw puzzle and then printed.
A Woll IV/1 example printed on paper 58 x 75 cm was sold for CHF 2.2M before fees from a lower estimate of CHF 1.25M by Kornfeld on June 14, 2019, lot 132.
This woodcut has been colored from a wood block sawn into three parts, the figure of the woman being colored in a monotype style.
A Woll IV printed in marine-blue, black, ochre and red, from three blocks, the woman's hair printed in the manner of monotype and strengthened with additional rich red color, was sold for £ 1.2M by Sotheby's on March 27, 2018, lot 82.
A Woll IV/1 example printed on paper 58 x 75 cm was sold for CHF 2.2M before fees from a lower estimate of CHF 1.25M by Kornfeld on June 14, 2019, lot 132.
This woodcut has been colored from a wood block sawn into three parts, the figure of the woman being colored in a monotype style.
A Woll IV printed in marine-blue, black, ochre and red, from three blocks, the woman's hair printed in the manner of monotype and strengthened with additional rich red color, was sold for £ 1.2M by Sotheby's on March 27, 2018, lot 82.
2
1917 Woll V
2016 SOLD for £ 1.56M by Sotheby's
Different states bring a more or less figurative vision of the beach, the ocean and the horizon. Hues become softer, expressing both the absence of conflict and the impossibility of communication in that peaceful scene.
The monotype applied through a stencil is linking the ground between the two characters, highlighting that their separate lives occur in the same place at the same time. The rest of the image is printed by three wooden blocks. The surroundings have become abstract.
On September 27, 2016, Sotheby's sold for £ 1.56M from a lower estimate of £ 400K a print 40 x 55 cm on 47 x 60 cm sheet of the Two Human beings, state V of VIII in Woll sub-classification of the W157, completed by Nielsen around 1917, lot 141.
The romantic moon and its reflection in the sea had been addd for that state.
The monotype applied through a stencil is linking the ground between the two characters, highlighting that their separate lives occur in the same place at the same time. The rest of the image is printed by three wooden blocks. The surroundings have become abstract.
On September 27, 2016, Sotheby's sold for £ 1.56M from a lower estimate of £ 400K a print 40 x 55 cm on 47 x 60 cm sheet of the Two Human beings, state V of VIII in Woll sub-classification of the W157, completed by Nielsen around 1917, lot 141.
The romantic moon and its reflection in the sea had been addd for that state.
Our 27 Sept Prints & Multiples sale in #London includes two moving and momentous Munch works https://t.co/PXt2mVLASC pic.twitter.com/VvDVFJ1bTy
— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) September 19, 2016
