“The Voice” or “Summer Night”
This oil painting, titled “The Voice” or “Summer Night” dates to 1896 and is by the Norwegian Symbolism artist, Edvard Munch. This is actually the second version of this piece that Munch created. The first one he painted several years earlier, in 1893.
“The Voice” or “Summer Night”, painted from memory, was inspired by the scenery of Åsgårdstrand; a place that was home to many artists of the time, and where Munch spent his summers.
Munch has said that the woman depicted in the painting was his first love, a married woman named Millie Thaulow who he met in 1885. She was an older woman and was the wife of a captain of the military with whom he had an affair. This affair was repeatedly documented in his personal journals. This painting is his recollection of her on their first night together.
This is part of the series that Munch created called the ‘Frieze of Life’ that dealt with the heavier aspects of life, including love, life, and death. Each piece was a different emotion, and included works such as “Despair”, “Anxiety”, and his most successful piece, “The Scream”. In 1902, this series was displayed at the 1902 Berlin exhibition and was an immediate success.
Beginning in the 1890s, Munch used colors as a means to show intense mood or feeling. He was deeply inspired by the symbolism in the colors used in the works of Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Gauguin. Rather than trying to depict color and light found in the outside world like the Impressionists were doing, he wanted to use colors to highlight his internal moods and feelings.
“The Voice” or “Summer Night“ is currently on display at the Munch Museum in Oslo, Norway. The first version from 1893 is at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, United States.
For more on Edvard Munch, please visit his short biography here.
You can find more artists to learn about here.
