Oslo » Munch Museum

Edvard Munch is Norway's best-known painter, and the only one of international importance. With the likes of Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin he is one of the pioneers of Expressionism, and has been hugely influential in the development of modern art.

Born in Løten in 1863, Edvard Munch decided at an early stage to become a painter. As a young man he lived in France and Germany, achieving his international breakthrough around the turn of the century. His works from the 1890s, including The Scream, Madonna, Vampire, Jealousy and Kiss, have become icons and are some of the world's best-known paintings.

When he moved back to Norway in 1909 after many years abroad, he worked on a series of paintings for the Aula, or Great Hall, of the University of Oslo, including The Sun, History and Alma Mater.

Munch was active and creative as a painter and graphic artist throughout his life. He died in his Oslo home at Ekely, near Skøyen, in 1944, surrounded by his artworks. He had bequeathed them to the municipality of Oslo, and they now form the Munch Museum's collection.