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The Alley

The Alley

Artist/Maker (Norwegian, 1863–1944)
Date1896
MediumLithograph
DimensionsImage: 16 15/16 × 11 1/2 in. (43 × 29.2 cm)
Sheet: 17 5/16 × 11 13/16 in. (44 × 30 cm)
Credit LineCharles F. Olney Fund
Object number1946.31
Status
Not on view
Copyright© The Munch Museum / The Munch-Ellingsen Group / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New YorkMore Information
One of Munch's earliest lithographs, The Alley highlights the artist's experimentation in graphic art after being formally trained as a painter. The angst, psychological distress, and highly charged sexual tension of Munch's works are replicated here-a woman walks naked and alone through a sea of men clothed in formal suits and hats, who stare shamelessly as they part the way for her. The men can be construed as either the victims of sexual desire, or the perpetrators. This ambivalence towards women and sexuality was a recurring theme throughout Munch's lifetime.
Exhibition History
Five Expressionists
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH ( 1946-04 - 1946-04 )
Third Exhibition of Prints Lent by Members of the Print Club
  • Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (January 7, 1947 - February 16, 1947 )
Teaching Exhibition: European and American Prints from the Collection
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (September 17, 2005 - December 23, 2005 )
"To Make Things Visible": Art in the Shadow of World War I
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (February 3, 2009 - June 7, 2009 )
Women Bound and Unbound
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (February 5, 2019 - May 26, 2019 )
Collections
  • European
This record was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator. Noticed a mistake? Have some extra information about this object? Please contact us.