Edvard Munch, Workers on their way home 1913-1915

摘要

Under a cloudy, winter evening sky, a gaunt column of workers, an unstoppable human tide, flows 'through the cold blue shadows' of a sunless, treeless, Nordic street . The central figures challenge us with their dark, hollowed-out eyes, their upright posture and clenched fists conveying a sense of determination, solidarity and defiance. They sport beards, soft hats and blue jackets with brown trousers and dark vests. One has a distinctive white face-from dust or disease? On the right, the faceless continuum trails alongside the high brown factory wall. Whilst on the left beyond the green and red houses, a meagre few (the night shift?) straggles in the opposite direction. Above the mountains behind the factories the clouds part to reveal some hopeful hints of blue. Strong diagonal lines accentuate the narrow street, exaggerating the perspective and heightening the sense of distance. Multiple-exposure images, overdrawn figures, bold double lines and transparent limbs create an impression of cinematic movement. The central figures with their over-dimensioned upper torsos and foreshortened legs loom out of the picture putting us amongst the workers as they flood around us.