The case in summary • Edvard Munch’s garden in Åsgårdstrand is being excavated to reveal more about the artist’s history and everyday life.• The experts found many interesting objects, including tubes of paint, a 22 caliber bullet, ceramics, buttons, buckles, corks and paint residues.• Everything that can be found , including waste, can help tell a story and provide new knowledge about Munch that cannot be read in the history books. • Munch wanted a utility garden, and evidence has been found that there were gooseberries, currants, blackcurrants and vegetable beds in his garden.• The excavation work is part of a preliminary project to look at what possibilities there are for the garden, and it is hoped that that the findings can contribute to a new experience of Munch’s house as a museum.• Whether there will be a restoration or a recreation of the garden depends on how solid the documentation is. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. In 1898, Norway’s most famous visual artist bought his first property. The then 34-year-old Edvard Munch fell for idyllic Åsgårdstrand, a scant mile north of Tønsberg. A small yellow house, with a large garden, became the place where the artist and his family would spend hot summer days. In the garden, the world-renowned artist is said to have painted several of his most famous works. Including Pikene på broen (pictured), Four girls in Åsgårdstrand and Livets Dans. The house is today a popular small museum. It houses both art and possessions by Edvard Munch. Can the garden provide even more information about how he lived? In parts of the garden, they can go to work effectively with the help of a digger, but you can’t rush it in any way for that reason. The entire area is protected. Elsewhere, the experts therefore proceed more cautiously, with a digging spoon and metal detector as suitable tools in the treasure hunt. And treasures they find. Part of a chalk pipe shows that someone smoked tobacco in Munch’s garden. Was it the artist himself who took a hit? This coin can be dated to Munch’s lifetime. Could it have been in the visual artist’s wallet? A 22 millimeter projectile is among the finds in Munch’s garden in Åsgårdstrand. Digging in the artist’s household waste Recently there was a lot of shouting in the garden. – Then we found tubes of paint. They must have belonged to Munch, says Trude Aga Bruun enthusiastically. Truls Waarhus is no less enthusiastic. He is responsible for using the metal detector in the garden, and has already found many interesting objects. A 22 caliber bullet for example. The top of a champagne bottle. Pieces of a chalk pipe. Ceramics, buttons, buckles, corks and paint residues. – It feels very special to hold something that Edvard Munch has fiddled with before you, he says. Truls Waarhus searches with a metal detector in the garden at Edvard Munch’s property in Åsgårdstrand. Photo: Gry Eirin Skjelbred / news Everything they find is of interest. Even the remains of waste can help tell a story. It is the composition of what they find that provides new knowledge. What you can’t read about in the history books. – Even an animal bone from his garbage can say something about what he ate for dinner. He should just know what we’re digging into, he best Munch, laughs Bruun. The experts have used old photographs, but also paintings Munch painted in the work. Bjørn Anders Fredriksen, 1st assistant professor at NMBU (Norwegian University of Environment and Biotechnology) with “Flowering morel tree”. It will illustrate the garden, as Munch saw it himself. Photo: Gry Eirin Skjelbred / news History-heavy surroundings However, the digging is about something completely different from a random treasure hunt. There are exciting plans underway here. The staff at the museum have gone through a number of old documents, photographs, letters and municipal decisions to learn more about Munch and his family’s relationship with the garden. Solfrid Sakkariassen, responsible for Munch’s House. Photo: Gry Eirin Skjelbred / news The excavation work is part of a preliminary project to look at what possibilities exist. – The project has many layers. Everything from finding out what it looked like to connecting it to his life, explains Solfrid Sakkariassen. She is an advisor for art in Horten municipality. Extensively used You already know a lot about what went on in the garden, and how the previous owner wanted it to be. Munch wanted a utility garden, explains the expert. – There were gooseberries, currants, blackcurrants and vegetable beds, she says. Edvard Munch photographed as a young man. He was 34 years old when he bought the property in Åsgårdstrand. So far, they have only excavated what are called trial routes on the plot of land in Åsgårdstrand. Whether there is a return or a re-creation of the garden depends on how solid the documentation is. – We hope it can contribute to a new experience of Munch’s house as a museum, and links house and garden together into a comprehensive property. Facts about Munch Edvard Munch was born on 12 December 1863 in Løten. The family moved to Oslo soon after. Munch was a Norwegian painter and graphic artist. He painted his first mature work when he was only 20 years old. The work was called “Morgen”. The artist spent large parts of his career abroad, including in Paris, Nice and Berlin. He is behind the hall decorations at the University of Oslo. The hall was inaugurated in 1916 and is considered a masterpiece in Norwegian monumental painting. Among his most famous works are “Scream”, “Madonna”, “Det syke barn” and “Kikene på bryggen”. Edvard Munch died on 23 January 1944 in Oslo, aged 80. He bequeathed his entire collection to Oslo municipality. He is buried at Vår Frelser’s cemetery in Oslo. Source: Great Norwegian Lexicon
ttn-69
Excavating Edvard Munch’s garden in Åsgårdstrand – news Vestfold and Telemark – Local news, TV and radio
