Beach Landscape 1902

Edvard Munch made this small etching, Beach Landscape, on a zinc plate. You can really see the drawing process here, how the artist is thinking, line by line. It is quite minimal. I love the way the lines that describe the trees in the center of the scene seem to reach out, their tops almost dissolving into the sky. There is a real sense of movement. They remind me of a Hokusai drawing, that same elemental feeling as if nature is alive and constantly changing. There are only a few lines describing the buildings or structures on the beach, but it is enough. The piece has this lovely melancholic air. Looking at this work, I am reminded of other artists who worked with simplified forms, like Marsden Hartley.