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•Inspired by antiquity, Norwegian folk art and Japonisme, Norwegian Gerhard Munhte was one of the most groundbreaking and innovative artists in the late 1800s, active as a designer in the fields of tapestries, carpets, furniture, stained glass, silver, porcelain, wallpaper, wrought iron, book bindings, fonts and interior decoration
•Scholarly presentation of Gerhard Munthe's oeuvre with special emphasis on his interior decoration projects and tapestry designs
•Accompanies a retrospective at The National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Oslo (NO), in the summer of 2018
Gerhard Munthe (1849-1929) is one of the most unique and important artists within the Art Nouveau movement and a significant contributor to its international diversity. His radical, abstract style based partly on old Norwegian folk art is today considered a precursor of twentieth-century modernism. Among Munthe's greatest achievements are his countless room decorations, of which the Holmenkollen Turisthotell (1896-1898) in Oslo and Håkonshallen (1910-1915) in Bergen are the most significant. A series of illustrations of old Norwegian ballads and fairy tales made in 1892-1893 became the basis for a renewal of the decorative arts in Scandinavia, notably in the weaving industry. Munthe's work as a designer covers most fields within the decorative arts: tapestries, carpets, furniture, stained glass, silver, porcelain, wallpaper, wrought iron, book bindings, fonts and ex libris.
Contents: Preface; Acknowledgements; Introduction; Munthe as a theoretician; 'Homeless in our own living room'. Early applied art; The fairy tale watercolours; Tapestries; Book illustrations; Private and public room decorations; Applied art; The King Hakon's Hall in Bergen; Gerhard Munthe's legacy; Bibliography; Index.
Published to accompany the Exhibition at The National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Oslo, 8 June-2 September 2018.
