The artwork titled “Four girls in Arsgardstrand” is an oil on canvas painting by the Norwegian artist Edvard Munch, dating back to 1903. This piece is associated with the Expressionism movement and can be classified as a genre painting. Measuring 87 x 111 cm, the artwork is part of the collection at the Munch Museum in Oslo, Norway.
In this Expressionist work, Munch portrays four young girls standing side by side against a vividly colored backdrop. The artist uses bold and somewhat undefined strokes, with the figures dominating the canvas. The girls are wearing long, heavy coats and hats that reflect the fashion of the era, though rendered in a stylized manner. The colors are intense, capturing the mood and atmosphere rather than the literal appearance of the scene. The facial expressions and the stance of the figures suggest a moment of contemplation or pause, characteristic of Munch’s focus on emotional and psychological states. The painting conveys a sense of the profound and often complex experiences of youth, which is a recurring theme in Munch’s work. The figures are stylized with simplified forms and the use of color is more emotive than representational, imbuing the scene with a poignant emotional resonance that is a hallmark of Expressionist art.
