Comment:
Munch had this sketchbook with him on an extended tour of Hamar and Hedmark in spring and early summer 1882. It was quite exclusive, with black leather binding, a metal lock and 83 sheets of quality drawing paper. It was relatively little, with the paper measuring ca. 10 x 17 cm, making it practical for bringing along anywhere. But at the same time the small format forced him to keep to a controlled, almost stunted drawing style (see, for example, page 37 recto), which probably hampered his urge to express himself unhampered. On later trips he almost without exception took along large sketchbooks. Perhaps he had been given this one for Christmas, since the first pages are filled with motifs from Kristiania: Vestre Aker Church, Hammersborg, the Aker River, various scenes with figures and sketches of the works of other artists’. The middle section of the book is devoted to his stay in Hedmark, with particular emphasis on motifs from Hamar. Then there are a number of drawings from Helgelandsmoen, where he went in August.



Many of the sketchbook drawings from Hamar could almost be considered postcard motifs: Hamar Cathedral viewed from the lake (p. 33 recto) and from land (p. 40 recto), Hamar centre (p. 36 recto), finely composed, idyllic motifs from the shore, with the obligatory rowboat gliding leisurely by (p. 37 recto and 38 recto). They bear signs of his being a tourist who uses his sketchbook somewhat like we use our cell phone cameras today; to document beautiful motifs to show family and friends later on. We can see that he knows how to draw. He has a sure hand, he alternates between crosshatching and drawn contours, and he divides up the pictorial surface in a judicious manner. But he does not challenge his drawing skills. There are no daring abstractions, no bold lines that stand out like exclamation marks on the paper.