Edvard Munch (1863-1944) - Lot 241

Edvard Munch (1863-1944) Peer Gynt (dramatic poem in five acts by Henrik Ibsen). Program for the Théâtre de l'œuvre. 1896. Lithograph. [318 x 252]. Schiefler 74; Aitken 86. Printed in bistre. Very fine proof on thin ivory vellum, lined with strong white vellum. Some foxing to the upper edge of the folio. Full margins. "If the transposition into music conveyed a vision of Peer Gynt that impressed the public, another form of translation served Ibsen's work well. This was the visual representation by Edvard Munch (1863-1944). Not only did he design the sets and draw the program for the staging of Lugné-Poe at the Théâtre de l'Œuvre in 1896, but he also produced numerous drawings inspired by various scenes in the play. The play and its central character had an extremely strong symbolic importance for him, and his depiction of Peer meeting the Button Melter is clearly a self-portrait. The relationship between Ibsen and Munch was decisive, and Peer Gynt is not the only work for which the painter designed sets and imagined visual scenes. Various portraits of Ibsen were also painted by Munch in the late 1890s." (Jeanne Mathieu-Lessard, "Le collage entre langages artistiques : le cas Peer Gynt", in revue Chameaux, n° 0, "Amalgames. Les artistes écrivent au bâton de colle", Spring 2009, Université de Laval, Québec, on revuechameaux.org).