Sigbjørn Obstfelder 1992

Edvard Munch made this drawing of Sigbjørn Obstfelder in Norway, sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century. Munch was part of a generation of artists who felt stifled by the conservative art establishment, with its emphasis on idealized beauty and academic technique. The raw, expressive style seen here, with its visible marks of charcoal on paper, was a deliberate challenge to those norms. Both Munch and Obstfelder were associated with the bohemian circles of Kristiania, now Oslo. These were groups of writers and artists who questioned conventional morality and social structures. In this context, a portrait like this is more than just a likeness. It’s a statement about the artist's commitment to representing inner experience, even if it meant breaking with tradition. To understand this work fully, we might consult letters, diaries, and the writings of critics from the period to get a sense of how the art world was changing and what was at stake for artists like Munch and his circle.