The Wedding of the Bohemian 1925 - 1930

Edvard Munch made this rough and ready painting, 'The Wedding of the Bohemian', with oil on canvas, but when or where, I don’t know, and frankly, it doesn’t matter! Look at that ochre ground showing through the sketchy marks. It’s like he attacked the canvas with quick strokes of blue, green, and yellow, barely defining the figures. I wonder if Munch was having a torrid affair at the time! What do you think? The colours are so loosely applied, so watery, they feel like fleeting impressions. A few casual, confident strokes here and there—it reminds me of his contemporary, Bonnard. You can almost feel him, brush in hand, trying to capture the atmosphere of this informal gathering. I love that artists are always in dialogue with one another, riffing off of each other's ideas. Munch offers us an invitation into a world of ambiguity, where emotions and relationships are suggested rather than spelled out, inviting us to become active participants in the unfolding narrative.