At the left sits a woman, turned almost straight toward the viewer but with her head lowered and inclined to her right. With us it is made as a hand-painted painting in oil on canvas.
Man and Woman by Edvard Munch is a symbolist painting from 1898, held under accession number RMS.M.00255 by KODE in Bergen, Rasmus Meyer Collection: at the left sits a woman, turned almost straight toward the viewer but with her head lowered and inclined to her right. 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: | Man and Woman |
| Other titles: | Moški in ženska · Muškarac i žena · Mann und Frau · Uomo e donna · Férfi és nő |
| Painter: | Edvard Munch (1863–1944) |
| Year: | 1898 |
| Original size: | 100 cm x 60.2 cm |
| Original technique: | Oil on canvas |
| Painting style: | Symbolism |
| Location: | KODE in Bergen, Rasmus Meyer Collection (RMS.M.00255) |
| Our reproduction: | a hand-painted work in oil, ten sizes from 70 x 40 cm to 230 x 145 cm, stretched on a stretcher bar, unframed |
Man and Woman – Edvard Munch
What is shown?
At the left sits a woman, turned almost straight toward the viewer but with her head lowered and inclined to her right. Her body is painted in pale cream-pink tones, her hair is dark, and her hands rest in her lap. Behind her head hangs a large curtain-like plane in a muted rose, almost dusty pink, the only lighter mass of colour in the upper half of the canvas. Her legs are pressed together and extend toward the lower right corner.
What is painted on the original?
At the right sits a man, bent forward with his head lowered into his arms, so that his face cannot be seen at all. His body is painted in darker orange-brown and ochre tones, his back is curved, and dark hair falls forward. He is turned inward and away from her. Between the two figures runs a broad band of near-black shadow that separates them completely; that empty dark space is in fact the subject of the picture. The background is dark brown, and olive-green and yellow-ochre streaks appear 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: the background is dark brown, and olive-green and yellow-ochre streaks appear 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. At the right sits a man, bent forward with his head lowered into his arms, so that his face cannot be seen at all. 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: The Woman in Three Stages, The Next Day, Madonna, Girl Yawning. 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. For this work we have no photographs of our own from the workshop, so you will not find any on this page; the photograph of the finished canvas always reaches you for approval before dispatch.
Which size for which wall?
If you are unsure: 150 x 90 cm. The 100 x 60 cm size is the closest of all to the proportion of the original. The format is landscape, so it asks for width, and a narrow wall does not suit it. 70 x 40 cm, 80 x 50 cm, 100 x 60 cm belong in a hallway or among several smaller works, 120 x 70 cm, 130 x 80 cm, 150 x 90 cm are the real painting for the living room or a quiet corner of a bedroom, 170 x 100 cm, 200 x 120 cm, 215 x 130 cm, 230 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 in Slovenia, 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 KODE in Bergen, Rasmus Meyer Collection. 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?
At the left sits a woman, turned almost straight toward the viewer but with her head lowered and inclined to her right. We can name none of the figures: there are no names on the canvas and none in the record we hold.
Is Moški in ženska the same work?
Yes. The work is listed under several titles across languages, among them Moški in ženska; 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 150 x 90 cm size is our recommendation for an ordinary wall. The 100 x 60 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 pressed together and extend toward the lower right corner.
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 landscape, leave some empty wall at the sides.
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: at the left sits a woman, turned almost straight toward the viewer but with her head lowered and inclined to her right
- Original: oil on canvas, 1898, 100 cm x 60.2 cm, KODE in Bergen, Rasmus Meyer Collection, inv. no. RMS.M.00255
- Ours: a hand-painted work in oil, ten sizes from 70 x 40 cm to 230 x 145 cm, stretched on a stretcher bar, unframed
- Worth knowing: the original measures 100 cm x 60.2 cm and its format is landscape
