The Girl at the Window

"The Girl at the Window," created by Edvard Munch Norwegian, 1863-1944 in 1894, is a powerful early print that exemplifies the artist’s lifelong exploration of psychological isolation and Modernist unease. This significant work, classified formally as a print, utilizes a highly specific combination of intaglio techniques: drypoint, roulette, and burnishing, applied in black ink on cream wove paper.

Munch’s mastery of the drypoint method is evident in the finished impression. The process, characterized by the use of a sharp needle to scratch directly into the copper plate, produces a soft, feathery burr around the line that retains ink, lending a rich, velvety black texture to the shadows. This effect is deliberately contrasted with the tonal nuances achieved through roulette and the subtle highlights created by burnishing. This technical complexity was essential for Munch to convey the emotionally charged interior spaces that defined his Symbolist and Expressionist periods.

Executed during a critical phase of the artist’s career, the piece reflects the fin de siècle mood prevalent in Scandinavia and across Europe. The subject-a solitary female figure positioned ambiguously within a dark interior-is a recurring motif in Munch’s oeuvre, emphasizing themes of yearning and confinement. The window itself acts not as a portal to the outside world, but as a barrier defining the psychological distance between the sitter and her environment. This seminal example of printmaking originating from Norway's vital contribution to Modern art is preserved today within the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.