The women's counterpart – and an echo from antiquity
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Edvard Munch's Men turned towards the Sun is a side panel to The Sun, the famous main work in the University Aula.
It is also the counterpart of the painting Women turned towards the sun.
Whereas the women are depicted in warm colours such as red and orange, Men turned towards the Sun is painted in tones of blue and green.
The painting reveals Munch's interest for vitalism, a philosophy based on the idea that all living things share a magic force of life. It also reflects the visual culture of the popular health and hygiene movements of the 1910s.
The standing man in the painting is an echo of Lysippos' Apoxyomenos sculpture from the antiquity.
Details
- Technique and materials: Oil on canvas
- Date: 1914
- Dimensions: 455 x 165 cm
- Woll: 1224
- UiO.K: 01407
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.