On the Bridge 1903

Edvard Munch made 'On The Bridge' with oil paint, though the exact date is unknown. Look at how Munch handles the paint here: confident, loose, and full of feeling. The way he’s applied it, you can almost feel the breeze and the cool air of the evening. There’s a tension here, too, between the figures who appear tightly packed, and the looser handling of the water, the sky, and the landscape. Check out the group of women, huddled together. It's intriguing how they're both separate and connected. See the way Munch uses these vertical strokes in their dresses? They remind me of tree trunks, like the women are somehow rooted, or stuck. But then the colors are so delicate, like the whole scene might just float away. Munch is a master of showing us how life is always shifting between these poles. His work reminds us that art is an ongoing conversation, a back and forth, where we can find new ways of seeing and feeling the world.