1909-1919
Photography, Film and Motion

Munch was intrigued by the new artistic possibilities presented by photography, and he occasionally even copied photographic effects like double exposure in his paintings. The young medium of film fascinated him too. A good instance is Workers on the Way Home. As in crowd scenes in documentaries, newsreels, and historical films, the group of workers appears to march past under the camera’s eye. The emphasis on spatial depth, movement out of the picture, and strongly foreshortened figures, bring cinematographic imagery to mind. Using such devices, Munch confronts the viewer almost physically with the theme of labor.