Karl Them-Enger, Åsgårdstrand (acquired from the artist in 1933 and sold: Christie's, London, June 30, 1980, lot 37)

Private Collection (acquired at the above sale)

Acquired from the above by the present owner in 2008

Gerd Woll, Edvard Munch, Catalogue raisonné, Bind IV 1921-1944, Oslo, 2008, vol. IV, no. 1714, illustrated in color p. 1537

Painted in the early 1930s, Boys Bathing reflects Munch’s life-long fascination with the sea. Depicting a group of young men on a sun-drenched beach, the scene is probably set on the rocky coast of Åsgårdstrand, a resort a few miles to the south of Oslo, which Munch first visited in the autumn of 1888. Having rented a holiday house for several years afterwards, Munch purchased a house there in 1897. During the summer months he often returned to Åsgårdstrand, where he painted some of his best landscapes, characterized by a vivid, expressive palette.

"The countryside around the little town of Åsgårdstrand near the west bank of the Oslo Fjord held an exceptional place in Munch’s art. Munch was familiar with all of its features: the gently undulating coastline, the large crowns of linden trees [...]. After several summer holidays there, he was able to immerse himself in the essence of the place in a way which made it a reflection of his own inner landscape, while simultaneously expressing the moods and feelings of an entire generation" (Edvard Munch, The Frieze of Life (ex♋hibition catalogue), The National Gallery, London, 1992, p. 54).

After a mental breakdown that he suffered in 1908, Munch’s subsequent recovery set off a distinguishable change in his art: his paintings of the following period are characterized by the use of strong colors, a focus on lighter subject matters and a bright atmosphere. Boys Bathing exemplifies the ‘vitalism’ of Munch’s later career, when he discovered a new interest in the corporeal, and this liberation from the emotional and the spiritual resulted in a number of paint🅘ings depicting nude figures swimming or sunbathing. The dazzling light of the present composition brings the group of bathers into harmony with the surrounding environment. Far from the starkness of his winter landscapes, this scene conveys the vivid light and rich colors that Munch found on the beaches of Åsgårdstrand.