Åsgårdstrand is a tiny coastal town in Horten municipality, Vestfold. It has a few hundred permanent residents, a small harbour, and white wooden houses along the waterfront. The reason people come here is Edvard Munch.
Munch first visited in 1885 and kept coming back. In 1897 he bought a small house here for 900 kroner. The house and garden became his summer base, and the town provided the setting for some of his most famous paintings. Pikene på broen, Girls on the Bridge, was painted in at least 12 versions starting around 1901, and the bridge in the painting is the one at the harbour. Melankoli from 1892, Stemmen from 1893, Stormen from 1893, and Sjalusi from 1895 were all painted here or inspired by the landscape.
The house has been a museum since 1947, now a branch of Vestfoldmuseene. It is small, just a few rooms, but preserved as Munch left it. The garden where he painted many outdoor scenes is part of the visit.
Åsgårdstrand was an artists' colony in the late 1800s. Other Norwegian painters worked here too, drawn by the light and the coastal landscape. Today the town is quiet, charming, and very small. A visit of an hour or so covers it, but on a warm summer day it is a pleasant place to linger.
Munch first visited in 1885 and kept coming back. In 1897 he bought a small house here for 900 kroner. The house and garden became his summer base, and the town provided the setting for some of his most famous paintings. Pikene på broen, Girls on the Bridge, was painted in at least 12 versions starting around 1901, and the bridge in the painting is the one at the harbour. Melankoli from 1892, Stemmen from 1893, Stormen from 1893, and Sjalusi from 1895 were all painted here or inspired by the landscape.
The house has been a museum since 1947, now a branch of Vestfoldmuseene. It is small, just a few rooms, but preserved as Munch left it. The garden where he painted many outdoor scenes is part of the visit.
Åsgårdstrand was an artists' colony in the late 1800s. Other Norwegian painters worked here too, drawn by the light and the coastal landscape. Today the town is quiet, charming, and very small. A visit of an hour or so covers it, but on a warm summer day it is a pleasant place to linger.