A painting of a man and a woman standing on a colorful rocky shore facing away from the viewer.
Edvard Munch, “Two Human Beings (The Lonely Ones),” 1906–08. Oil on canvas. Harvard Art Museums/Busch-Reisinger Museum, The Philip and Lynn Straus Collection, 2023.551. Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
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Edvard Munch, “Two Human Beings (The Lonely Ones),” 1906–08. Oil on canvas. Harvard Art Museums/Busch-Reisinger Museum, The Philip and Lynn Straus Collection, 2023.551. Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College

A painting of a man and a woman standing on a colorful rocky shore facing away from the viewer. The figure on the left wears a long white gown and the figure on the right wears a dark-colored jacket and pants. 

Identification and Creation

Object Number
2023.551
People
Edvard Munch, Norwegian (Loiten, Norway 1863 - 1944 Ekely, Norway)
Title
Two Human Beings (The Lonely Ones)
Other Titles
Alternate Title: The Lonely Ones
Alternate Title: Zwei Menschen am Strand
Alternate Title: Zwei Menschen
Alternate Title: Die Einsamen
Original Language Title: De ensomme
Original Language Title: To mennesker
Classification
Paintings
Work Type
painting
Date
1906-1908
Culture
Norwegian
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/48798

Location

Location
Level 3, Room 3500, Special Exhibitions Gallery
View this object's location on our interactive map

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
81.3 × 111.5 cm (32 × 43 7/8 in.)
Inscriptions and Marks
  • inscription: verso, left strainer, black crayon: Kasse no 1
  • inscription: verso, top left strainer, graphite: 1908
  • label: verso, top strainer, left: KUNSTNERFORBUNDET / 1958 KATALOG NR. 22
  • inscription: verso, bottom strainer, left, blue crayon: N 718
  • inscription: verso, top stretcher, center, graphite: Jan M[illegible text]
  • inscription: verso, top stretcher, right, graphite, under tape: [illegible text] 1891 [?]
  • inscription: verso, bottom stretcher, graphite: C K [?] / 5 [partially obscured by tape]
  • inscription: vereso, right stretcher, blue crayon: A J [?, partially obscured by tape] 182 [illegible text, partially obscured by tape]
  • inscription: verso, bottom stretcher, right, blue crayon: 644
  • inscription: verso, top stretcher, right, red chalk: B7495
  • inscription: verso, top stretcher, left, red crayon: 1951 / Nr. 29
  • inscription: vreso, top stretcher, right, blue crayon, under tape, partially obscured: [illegible text and numbers]
  • label: verso, top stretcher, right, torn: [illegible text] / o. n. / Gr. 80-11 [missing number]
  • inscription: verso, top stretcher, graphite: [illegible text, hidden under tape]

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Halfdan Nobel Roede (c. 1909-27); Galerie Arnold, Dresden (1928); Stadtische Kunstsammlung, Chemnitz (1928- September 1937) sold; [through Hildebrand Gurlitt (1937) ]; [through Harald Holst Halvorsen (1938]); sold, to Niels Werring (1938-81); [Sotheby's April 1, 1981, lot 39,] sold; to Philip and Lynn Straus, New York (1981-2004); Lynn Straus, New York (2004 -2023) bequest; to Busch-Reisinger Museum, 2023.

NOTE: See correspondence with Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz, 11 May 2023 on file.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Busch-Reisinger Museum, The Philip and Lynn Straus Collection
Accession Year
2023
Object Number
2023.551
Division
European and American Art
Contact
am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Publication History

  • Edv. Munch, exh. cat., Ateneum Art Museum (Helsinki, 1909), cat. no. 9
  • Edvard Munch: Ausstellung in der Nationalgalerie, exh. cat., Nationalgalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (Berlin, 1927), p. 32, cat. no. 127
  • Ausstellung Edvard Munch, exh. cat., Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz (Chemnitz, 1929), pp. 14, 238, cat. no. 34, repr. as Abb. S. 34
  • Edvard Munch, exh. cat., Leipziger Kunstverein (Leipzig, 1929), p.10, cat. no. 29, repr.
  • 30 Jahre Städliche Kunstsammlung Chemnitz, 1920-1950, KWU der Stadt Chemnitz (Chemnitz, 1950), p. 33, repr.
  • Edvard Munch Utstilling: Malerier, Akvareller, Tegninger, Grafikk, exh. cat., Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo (Oslo, 1951), p. 7, cat. no. 77
  • Munch-bilder i privat eie, Kunstnerforbundet (Oslo, 1958), cat. no. 22
  • Edvard Munch, exh. cat., Frankfurter Kunstverein (Frankfurt, 1962), cat. no. 42, repr.
  • Edvard Munch, exh. cat., Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (New York, 1965), cat. no. 48
  • Peter Krieger, Edvard Munch: Der Lebensfries für Max Reinhardts Kammerspiele, exh. cat., Gebr. Mann Verlag (Berlin, 1978), p. 50, fig. 40
  • Elizabeth Prelinger, Edvard Munch: Master Printmaker, exh. cat., W. W. Norton & Company and Harvard University Art Museums, Busch-Reisinger Museum (New York and London, 1983), pp.122-124, 144, repr. p. 124 and 144 as pl. 113
  • Elizabeth Prelinger, Guide to the Exhibition "Edvard Munch: Master Printmaker. Prints from The Philip and Lynn Straus Collection", brochure, Harvard Art Museums (Cambridge, MA, 1983), checklist
  • Dorothee Hansen and Uwe M. Schneede, Munch und Deutschland, exh. cat., Verlag Gerd Hatje (Stuttgart, 1994), p. 117
  • Ingrid Mössinger, Beate Ritter, and Kerstin Drechsel, Edvard Munch in Chemnitz, exh. cat., Wienand Verlag and Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz (Chemnitz, 1999), pp. 23, 83, 151, cat. no. 43, repr. p. 83
  • Gerd Woll, Edvard Munch: Complete Paintings, Thames & Hudson (London, 2009), vol. 2, no. 640, repr., p. 1666

Exhibition History

  • Edv. Munch, Ateneum Art Museum, 01/03/1909 - 01/31/1909
  • Edvard Munch, Nationalgalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, 03/12/1927 - 05/15/1927
  • Ausstellung Edvard Munch, Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz, 11/15/1929 - 12/10/1929
  • Edvard Munch, Leipziger Kunstverein, 12/15/1929 - 01/12/1930
  • Edvard Munch Utstilling: Malerier, Akvareller, Tegninger, Grafikk, Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo, 11/10/1951 - 12/16/1951
  • Munch-bilder i privat eie, Kunstnerforbundet, 01/25/1958 - 02/20/1958
  • Edvard Munch, Steinernes Haus, 11/09/1962 - 01/06/1963
  • Edvard Munch, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, 10/01/1965 - 01/01/1966
  • Edvard Munch: Master Printmaker, Harvard University Art Museums, Busch-Reisinger Museum, 10/06/1983 - 11/27/1983; Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase, 01/29/1984 - 03/25/1984
  • Edvard Munch in Chemnitz, Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz, 11/14/1999 - 02/20/2000
  • 32Q: 1440 Secessionism: Munich, Vienna, Berlin (Expressionism), Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/16/2014 - 10/22/2015
  • Edvard Munch: Technically Speaking, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 03/07/2025 - 07/27/2025

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of European and American Art at am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu