Roman patron spirits in baroque style
Listen to the text:
Geniuses in the Lightstream hangs to the right of Edvard Munch's famous painting The Sun in the University Aula. It expands The Sun's glowing arches of light.
The canvas adapts motifs from Italian Baroque art.
A green figure at the bottom, resembling a river god, is attended by a host of genii – guardian spirits drawn from Roman mythology.
These buoyant creatures represent the light as a form of vitalisation.
Details
- Technique and materials: Oil on canvas
- Date: 1914–1916
- Dimensions: 450 x 305 cm
- Woll: 1221
- UiO.K: 01406
Edvard Munch's Aula paintings
The decoration of the University Aula in Oslo was among Edvard Munch's most comprehensive art projects, and a prestigious and controversial assignment in its time.
The 11 pictures are the only expressionist monumental paintings preserved in their original context. The motifs show the university's activities and history, enlightenment and the great, eternal forces of nature and mankind.
The Aula decoration is part of UiO's art collection.