Bjørnen (Der Bär). 1908 /09.
Lithograph.
Woll 345. Schiefler 315. Signed. From a complete edition of ca. 100-150 copies. On wove paper. 47.5 x 58.8 cm (18.7 x 23.1 in) , size of sheet.
Printed by Dansk Reproduktionsanstalt, Copenhagen. Sixth sheet from the portfolio "Alpha & Omega" (cf. Schiefler 306-327, Woll 336-357) with 18 lithographs, title sheet, table of content, two opening vignettes and two text sheets in Norwegian and French in a gray cloth portfolio. The Dansk Reproduktionsanstalt abraded the stones of the "Alpha & Omega" series in 1909, so Munch had his drawings transferred to new lithostones in Norway by means of spirit duplicator copy paper. They were executed at Nielsen in Oslo, who became Munch's main printer after 1917.
Sixth sheet from the portfolio "Alpha & Omega", which Munch considered his "most pefect accomplishment" (quote after a diary entry of Ludvig Ravensberg on 9 January 1910, in: Edvard Munch. Alpha & Omega, published by Arne Eggum and Gerd Woll, Oslo 1981, p. 53).
We are grateful to Magne Bruteig, Munch Museum, Oslo, for his kind expert advice and the oral confirmation of this work's authenticity.