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Fiolinkonserten (Violin Concert)(Woll 243), 1903, lithograph, 18 7/8 x 22 inches |
One of Edvard Munch’s better know portraits is one he did in 1903 of violinist Eva Mudocci. Called The Brooch (W244), we’ve discussed this print before. What’s not as well known is that W244 is the second of three known prints Munch did of Eva Mudocci in that same year. The third, called Salome, is of both Munch and Eva Mudocci’s heads and, in a letter to a friend Eva wrote that the title Salome caused her and Munch to have their “only row.”* The first of the three, Violin Concert (W243), is a lithograph of Eva and Bella Edwards, the pianist who accompanied her on tour. And this is the image that we’ll focus on today.
First, a refresher on Eva Mudocci and her Parisian encounter with Munch: Not falling into the trope of an artist’s muse as simply a symbol of beauty and romantic interest, Mudocci herself was an acclaimed artist. A child prodigy, she began performing in England before expanding her horizons to the rest of Europe, where she met Bella Edwards. The two were enmeshed in the rich arts scene happening in Paris’s Left Bank and together they spent half a decade living, traveling, and performing together.**
It was in 1903, during that tour, that Munch first met the talented violinist. He was quickly drawn to her musical ability and her beauty. Already consumed with busy travel plans for the rest of the year, Munch developed a relationship with Mudocci by corresponding back and forth throughout his travels. In this correspondence, he mentioned that he wanted to do a portrait of her.
His desire to draw her portrait became a reality later that same year when they met in person once again, this time in Berlin. Mudocci and Bella Edwards were staying at the Hotel Sans Souci and, according to art historian Arne Eggum, Munch moved all of his art supplies into their room in preparation to do the portrait. However, it seemingly wasn’t enough to have his lithograph stones and painting materials there, as Munch procrastinated on creating the portrait for so long that the women gave him an ultimatum: create the piece or move the materials out. This clearly was enough to spur Munch into action, as he got to work and created the first lithograph, The Violin Concert. |
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Die Brosche. Eva Mudocci(Woll 244), 1903, lithograph, 23 7/8 x 18 3/8 inches |
Before we dive into the image, it’s important to note a few things. First, that there was much speculation about Eva and Bella’s own relationship, primarily that they were also involved in a romantic relationship with one another. The second thing to remember is Munch’s notoriously complicated relationship with women. His contradicting love and fear of them led to doomed relationships and dark feelings. While he once write, “The woman has inspired many of my best artworks,” he also wrote, “Often I felt the woman stood in the way of my art.”*** In regards to Eva Mudocci, an excerpt from a letter Munch sent to his friend Frederick Delius is likely most telling. He wrote: "But I always have feelings about the enemy – Woman I think you know Eva Mudocci and her friend B. Edvards – they are here – Fraulein Mudocci is wonderfully beautiful and I almost fear falling in love – (one of thousands). What do you think?”
Now back to the lithograph. Munch based the piece on two publicity photographs of Eva and Bella.**** In one, the musicians are mid-performance. In the other, Mudocci wears a white gown and has either already finished the recital or hasn’t started playing yet. Looking closely at W243, it’s interesting to see the different parts of each photograph he opted to incorporate into his own image. While he has Bella Edwards sat at the piano (her black dress blending with the black piano), playing with her back turned from Eva, he decided to portray Eva in the white gown, holding her violin still against her body. Her posture is rigid. She is looking at Bella, who is not looking back at her, almost as though waiting for direction. What’s even more, the expression on her face is stoic. It’s brooding. There is a strained feeling that almost sets an uneasy tone.
In The Brooch, Eva is alone, up close and center. It highlights her beauty and the intricate details of her face. Munch even referred to it once as another “Madonna.” When compared to W243, the stark differences between the two are obvious. So what does that suggest? Maybe Munch wasn’t merely depicting the ending of a music recital. Rather, he was possibly using the scene to project his own personal feelings— maybe his feelings on the relationship between Bella and Eva, maybe his conflicting feelings towards Eva being an independent and talented artist in her own right. Or maybe simply the fear of falling for a woman when his feelings on relationships were filled with such despair.
Munch and Eva continued their relationship until 1908 or 1909, though it was a complicated one. There was a trust and intimacy between them, but also turbulence and a certain level of incapability. Considering the tortured nature of their relationship, perhaps the first depiction Munch ever created of Eva Mudocci— an image that on face value could simply be seen as two women performing music together— contained more foreshadowing than even he knew himself. * Prelinger, Elizabeth, et al. The Symbolist Prints of Edvard Munch: The Vivian and David Campbell Collection: Exhibition. Art Gallery of Ontario, 1996. *** https://www.munchmuseet.no/en/whats-on-arkiv/live-tour-munch-and-the-woman/ |
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