Description
Girl Yawning by Edvard Munch is a symbolist painting from 1913, held by the Rolf Stenersen Collection in Bergen: the figure sits at the centre of the canvas, turned toward the viewer. Her dark hair is loose and falls freely on both sides of her face. With us it is made as a hand-painted reproduction in oil, brushed onto canvas; you receive a photograph of the finished work for approval before dispatch, and you choose between ten sizes or a size of your own.
| Title: | Girl Yawning |
| Other titles: | Zehajoče dekle · Djevojka koja zijeva · Gähnendes Mädchen · Ragazza che sbadiglia · Ásítozó lány |
| Painter: | Edvard Munch (1863–1944) |
| Year: | 1913 |
| Original size: | 100 cm x 110 cm |
| Original technique: | Oil on canvas |
| Painting style: | Symbolism |
| Location: | the Rolf Stenersen Collection in Bergen |
| Our reproduction: | a hand-painted work in oil, ten sizes from 40 x 50 cm to 130 x 145 cm, stretched on a stretcher bar, unframed |
Girl Yawning – Edvard Munch
What is shown?
The figure sits at the centre of the canvas, turned toward the viewer. Her dark hair is loose and falls freely on both sides of her face. Her upper body is bare, painted in pale yellow-cream and white with pink accents. A white sheet lies across her lap and thighs. Her legs are bare and come forward and down in cream-yellow and pink; her arms hang at her sides with the hands resting on the bed.
What is painted on the original?
The bedding is a strong crimson red at the left and right, laid on with broad strokes and scumbled over with pink and white. In the upper right corner is a large dark grey-purple mass with violet strokes and a pale X-shaped mark. The wall behind is pale pink, mauve and cream, loosely brushed. A dark green-teal band runs along the left edge, and at the right stands a pale turquoise angular form with visible legs – a table or a chair – with pink-red gleaming behind it. A signature sits in the upper right corner.
Why does this painting matter?
Symbolism works here not through a story but through what is actually visible on the canvas: a signature sits in the upper right corner. That is why the work belongs to this painting style and not merely to the period it was made in. Munch used the same approach across a run of works from those years, and this is one of them; what makes it worth looking at is the relation between what is painted precisely and what is left open.
What does the painting mean?
We keep to what is visible. The bedding is a strong crimson red at the left and right, laid on with broad strokes and scumbled over with pink and white. What that means the canvas does not say in words, and that is exactly why the work has stayed open to interpretation. There are no names on the canvas and none in the record we hold; anyone who sees particular people or a particular story in the scene is adding it, and we do not claim it. What is beyond dispute is the arrangement and the colour: what is painted, and nothing further.
Where does the work sit among Munch’s works?
The same painterly approach returns in other Munch works on this shelf: Self-Portrait by the Window, The Next Day, Man and Woman, The Woman in Three Stages. Where exactly this work stands among them is a matter of reading and not of the record; we state only what is on the canvas and in the inventory. The whole range is in the Edvard Munch gallery.
How is our hand-painted version made?
This is a painting on canvas made with brush and oil colour, not with a printer. The painter works from a high-resolution reference and builds the scene from the back forward, layer by layer, so that the transitions between tones stay soft. Because every hand-painted copy is made for its own order, no two match down to the detail; small differences in the laying-on are a mark of the human hand and not a fault.
Which size for which wall?
If you are unsure: 90 x 100 cm. The 100 x 110 cm size is the closest of all to the proportion of the original. The format is upright, so it asks for height, not width. 40 x 50 cm, 50 x 60 cm, 60 x 70 cm belong in a hallway or among several smaller works, 70 x 80 cm, 80 x 90 cm, 90 x 100 cm are the real painting for the living room or a quiet corner of a bedroom, 100 x 110 cm, 110 x 120 cm, 120 x 130 cm, 130 x 145 cm are for large walls and rooms with enough distance. All ten sizes are made to order; none is held in stock as an already painted work.
Custom size, stretcher bar and frame
If none of the ten sizes suits your wall, we paint to your measurements and keep the proportion of the reference, so the scene is not stretched; that is our painting made to measure. Every example arrives stretched on a wooden stretcher bar, ready to hang; the stretcher bar can be left off at the order. On this page the canvas is offered without a frame; the frame is chosen separately with our 3D application, which shows every one of our frame profiles on this motif. The application is for frame choice only. If you would like to see how the work will look on your own wall, that is our separate room-placement service.
Delivery and guarantee
Every example is made to order in our studio, so allow 15 to 45 days depending on size. We ship it stretched on a wooden stretcher bar and protected for transport, without customs inside the European Union; the frame is not included and is chosen separately with our 3D application, which is for frame choice only. Every canvas painting we make is made the same way, including paintings by famous painters from other periods; we write about Munch’s path in our article on Edvard Munch.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the original?
The work is held by the Rolf Stenersen Collection in Bergen. We could not read this institution’s record on its own page in the course of this job, so we cite it without a link and add nothing to it.
Who or what is shown in the painting?
The figure sits at the centre of the canvas, turned toward the viewer. Her dark hair is loose and falls freely on both sides of her face. We can name none of the figures: there are no names on the canvas and none in the record we hold.
Is Zehajoče dekle the same work?
Yes. The work is listed under several titles across languages, among them Zehajoče dekle; what identifies it reliably is the accession number, not the title.
Is this a print?
No. The order is painted by hand in oil colour onto canvas; the brushstrokes can be seen and felt.
Which size should I choose?
The 90 x 100 cm size is our recommendation for an ordinary wall. The 100 x 110 cm size is the closest of all to the proportion of the original. For other walls see the guide above.
Can I have a size that isn’t listed?
Yes, we paint to measure and keep the side ratio of the reference.
How is it delivered?
Stretched on the stretcher bar and protected for transport, in 15 to 45 days, once you confirm the photograph of the finished work.
What is the painting about, in one sentence?
In one sentence: her legs are bare and come forward and down in cream-yellow and pink; her arms hang at her sides with the hands resting on the bed.
Is the original for sale and what is it worth?
No. The work is in a public collection and is not for sale; we give no value for it, because we have none from a source we could check. A hand-painted canvas is the one way to have this scene at home.
How high should I hang it?
The centre at eye level, roughly 145–150 cm from the floor; above a sofa 15–25 cm over the back. Because the format is upright, leave some empty wall above and below it.
Is it suitable as a gift?
As a work of art it is a considered gift; in the middle sizes it arrives stretched and ready to hang. If you would rather leave the choice to the recipient, a gift voucher is available.
- Subject: the figure sits at the centre of the canvas, turned toward the viewer. Her dark hair is loose and falls freely on both sides of her face
- Original: oil on canvas, 1913, 100 cm x 110 cm, the Rolf Stenersen Collection in Bergen
- Ours: a hand-painted work in oil, ten sizes from 40 x 50 cm to 130 x 145 cm, stretched on a stretcher bar, unframed
- Worth knowing: the original measures 100 cm x 110 cm and its format is upright
