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Self-Portrait. Between the Clock and the Bed

Edvard Munch, 1940s

Self-Portrait. Between the Clock and the Bed is one of Edvard Munch's late self-portraits, dated to the 1940s and held by the Munch Museum. In it, the ageing artist stands stiffly between a tall clock and a bed, a quiet image often read as a meditation on time, old age and mortality.

Where to see it

The painting is in the collection of the Munch Museum. Works in large single-artist collections are often rotated, lent or rested for conservation, so check the Munch Museum's official website for current display status before you plan your visit.

What to look for in person

The clock on the left

Start with the tall case clock standing at the left edge of the canvas. It is roughly the height of the painted figure, so artist and clock seem to stand side by side like two upright presences in the room. Look at its narrow, elongated body and how flatly it is painted compared with the figure. Many viewers and writers connect the clock with the passing of time, an idea that sits naturally in a self-portrait made by an elderly painter. Notice how its dark, vertical form frames Munch from one side.

The bed and its patterned cover

On the right, a bed pushes into the picture, covered with a boldly patterned spread. Step closer and look at how the pattern is built from quick, loose strokes rather than careful detail; it reads as a lively block of colour against the calmer walls. The bed, a place of rest, sleep and illness, is commonly understood as the counterpart to the clock. Between these two objects the artist is literally placed, which is the arrangement the title describes. Compare how the bed's diagonal edge contrasts with the clock's straight vertical.

The figure and the room behind

Now look at Munch himself, standing in the centre. His posture is upright and rigid, arms hanging by his sides, and he faces the viewer directly. The brushwork across his clothes and face is thin and sketch-like, with areas where the canvas seems barely covered. Behind him, a doorway opens onto a brighter room whose walls are hung with paintings, generally taken to be his own works. This background suggests a lifetime of art kept close at hand. Step back to see how the warm light of that room balances the darker foreground.

About the painting

Edvard Munch painted self-portraits throughout his long career, using his own face and body to explore illness, anxiety, loneliness and ageing. Self-Portrait. Between the Clock and the Bed belongs to the final group of these works, dated to the 1940s, when the artist was an old man. It is a substantial canvas, 149.5 cm high and 120.5 cm wide, so the standing figure appears at close to life size, an effect best appreciated when you stand directly in front of it.

The composition is simple and deliberate. Munch places himself in a narrow space between two everyday objects: a tall clock and a bed. Neither is unusual on its own, but together they give the picture its widely discussed meaning. The clock is commonly linked with the measuring out of a life, and the bed with rest, sickness and the end of life. The artist stands between them, neither moving toward one nor the other, with a calm, almost formal bearing.

The open doorway behind him adds another layer. The room beyond, lit and hung with canvases, is usually read as the artist's own working and living space, filled with the paintings he kept around him. In this way the work can be seen as a portrait of a man and of the art he produced, set side by side.

For visitors, the painting rewards slow looking. Notice the loose, open handling of paint, the strong colour of the bedspread and the stillness of the figure. The work is held by the Munch Museum, which cares for a large body of the artist's paintings, prints and drawings.

Key facts

More by Edvard Munch

• Vampire — Munch Museum
• Jealousy
• Anxiety — Munch Museum
• Starry Night — J. Paul Getty Museum
• Inger on the Beach
• Night in Saint-Cloud — National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design
• Self-Portrait with Cigarette — National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design
• Vampire — Munch Museum
• Dance of Life — National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design
• Puberty — National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design
• Evening on Karl Johan
• The Scream — National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design

Sources

• Wikidata Q18890834
• www.munch.no