Portfolio cover and colophon page, from Max Linde's House

Edvard Munch · 1902

Medium

Oil on canvas

Currently held

Art Institute of Chicago

Movement

Symbolism

This intimate work sits at the intersection of fine art and private patronage, offering a glimpse into one of Edvard Munch's most productive creative friendships. In 1902, the Norwegian painter was at the height of his engagement with symbolic, emotionally charged imagery, and his relationship with Max Linde — a German ophthalmologist, collector, and early champion of his work — gave him both financial stability and artistic freedom. Linde commissioned Munch to document his home and family, resulting in a body of work that is quieter and more domestic in character than the raw psychological intensity Munch is typically known for. The portfolio pieces from this commission reveal his ability to shift registers — from existential anguish to something closer to warmth and observation. Linde later wrote a monograph on Munch, cementing the friendship as one of the more generous patron-artist relationships of the era. This hand-painted oil reproduction faithfully renders the tonal depth and deliberate compositional restraint of the original held at the Art Institute of Chicago, allowing the work's understated elegance to live in your space rather than behind museum glass.