Munch Museum
The Munch Museum, art museum in Oslo, technically has 13 floors however only about four have exhibits. Several floors are taken up by gift shop, concert venue, sky bar and restaurant. It is a very tall narrow building with fascinating architecture. It is like a large gray shoe box turned on its side. There is a great view from the large windows on the top floors. There is a temporary art exhibit on the third floor. Floors 4, 6, and 7 have Munch’s artwork and history. It does not take more than a couple hours to peruse what the Munch Museum has to offer.
Museum Features
The Munch Museum offers several floors of exhibits. Adult tickets are 160NOK or $16. The museum is free, included, with the Oslo Pass.
Temporary Exhibit: Modern Art
There was a temporary modern art exhibit on the third floor. His included some very famous artists like Jackson Pollock. I am not a big fan of modern art and was there for Munch so I did not spend long in here. It was a well-spaced exhibit with some big names.
Main Art Exhibit
All of Munch’s works that are in the normal size range are housed on the fourth floor, including The Scream. They were organized by theme. Some examples of themes I recall were self-portraits, love/relationships, sorrow, and scream/fear. They used this layout to explain that Munch’s artistic approach was very much tied to his emotions and thoughts. He would paint how he felt at the time or how a subject made him feel. Hence, why the themes are aligned with specific emotions. The Madonna and several other popular portraits are in this room.
The Scream
Edvard Munch’s world-renowned painting The Scream is found in the center of the main exhibit on the third floor. It was interesting to learn that Munch often made multiple renditions of each piece using different mediums. So, there are actually multiple of The Scream. The Munch Museum houses three of them: a pastel, a print, and a painting. Another pastel of The Scream can be found not far away in the National Museum in Oslo. The munch museum only has one of The Screams viewable to the public at a time and rotates throughout the day. So, if you spent the whole day there you could see them all. I got the opportunity to see two: the painting and the print.
XL Art Exhibit
The sixth-floor houses all of Munch’s very large mural paintings. It is a small exhibit but it has some impressively large works. They also included a stature version of one of the pieces which was quite interesting to examine and compare.
Wood Block Print Exhibit
The seventh floor had an exhibit of some original wood blocks as well as several of the prints that came from them. This was a very interesting before and after exhibit.
Munch History Exhbit
The seventh floor also had an exhibit about the life of Edvard Munch. It held various artifacts from his home, such as painting supplies and clothing. There were also interactive timelines that explained what was happening in different periods of his life and which painting were done at those times. There was also an interesting deconstructed modern take on a house in the room that was interactive but hard to explain.
Who Goes Here?
Tourists or anyone interested in seeing Edvard Munch’s artwork. People who want to view The Scream. I also saw some children on field trips while I was there.
Venue
The Munch Museum is very specious, crisp, and modern. It is not comfortable but it is very clean and Scandinavian style with white, gray, glass, and concrete. There is a great view for the top of the building with seating and restaurants available. The museum is very clean and new looking. There are a lot of security guards throughout to ensure no one tampers with the art. There is a café by the gift shop and a restaurant and lounge available at the top of the building. This has a great view of the harbor. The munch museum offers a very crisp, undistracting base so you can appreciate the art available.
Location
The Munch Museum is located right on the harbor in downtown Oslo, Norway. It is a few blocks to public transportation. However, there is not parking easily available. I would recommend walking.
Interested in other museums?
Summary
The Munch Museum is a large spacious art museum that houses most of Edvard Munch’s artwork, including The Scream. The museum includes interesting information about his life and artistic journey. The museum itself has unique Scandinavian architecture and includes a restaurant and lounge with a view of the harbor from the 13th floor. It is a very airy, modern museum with great content that does not take long to visit.
