The Girls on the Bridge

"The Girls on the Bridge" is a motif Munch returned to again and again over a period of almost 30 years. The composition is more-or-less unchanged in all the versions with the large villa we recognise from "Red Virginia Creeper", the large tree and the pier leading out to the steamship jetty at Aasgaardsstrand.

However, where the girls are concerned Munch made a number of changes in the various versions, for example by turning the nearest girl dressed in white to face the opposite way, or by adding a fourth girl to the group.

This version from1927 is very much like the first version from 1901, which belongs to the National Gallery in Oslo.

"The Girls on the Bridge" is regarded as one of Munch’s most harmonious and lyrical pictures – though not without erotic undertones. The three girls are peering down into the water where the large tree - which can be interpreted as a phallic symbol - mirrors itself in the summer night.