New Rays
- Original dimensions
- 111 x 229 cm
- Museum
- Munch Museum
- Year
- 1912
Scene depicted
"New Rays" evokes a harmonious juxtaposition between transcendent light and the natural environment. The painting shows an ethereal landscape, where rays of sunlight pierce a cloudy canopy, illuminating a scene of daily life. The vibrant hues play a visual melody, revealing complex emotions, oscillating between joy and melancholy, while heralding a renewal.
Historical context
Created in 1912 in Oslo, the painting "New Rays" by Edvard Munch is part of the expressionist movement. In the midst of the wonder of modern art, this canvas emanates from a rich artistic climate, resonating with the existential concerns of its time. Now housed in the Munch Museum, this captivating work, with its impressive size of 111 x 229 cm, continues to touch souls.
Place in the artist's career
In the career of Edvard Munch , New Rays represents a decisive phase, reflecting his stylistic evolution. Situated between works such as "The Scream" and "The Madonna," this painting reveals an increase in maturity in the expression of emotions through light and color, consolidating the artist's predominant role on the European pictorial scene.
Anecdote
"Light is color, color is life," Munch said about his work. It was on a vibrant spring morning, as he walked in the golden light of the city, that inspiration for this masterpiece seized him. This fleeting moment, this burst of images and suffering, permeates the composition of "New Rays," infusing it with unparalleled emotional strength.