MM N 122, fol. 1r
* Allow the body to die but save the soul
The first Scream (Now in the Thielska Gallery 
)
Kiss (a Cypresse outside by the window and belonging to Mustad )
The first “By the Shore” (A melancholy man
by the shore or the yellow boat) All belonging
to the Frieze of Life were painted in 1891 in Nizza
Kiss and Vampire and Man and Woman by the Shore are
rendered as drawings and
paintings (Kiss) in various drafts from 1884
Ashes likewise as a drawing from 1884.
It was executed simultaneously as
somewhat impressionistic somewhat psychological
(Psychoanalytical) notes – intended to
be illustrated with lithographs in a large volume
I began as an impressionist but during
the intense emotional and existential upheavals of the Bohemian period
Impressionism no longer provided me
with enough expression I had to find a style to express
what moved my mind –
In addition to that the influence from my acquaintanceship with Hans Jæger –
(paint one’s own life)
The first break with Impressionism was
The Sick Child – I worked to achieve the expression (expressionism)
As it gave me trouble
to combine it with my Impressionism – it remained
incomplete after ca 20 reworkings – (That is why I
could later so often repeat my claim that I
felt that I could achieve anything that I desired
MM N 122, fol. 1v
Spring was painted shortly after 1887 (exhibited 1889)
I have called [it] final farewell with
Impressionism or Realism –
During my first sojourn in Paris I
conducted a few experiments with the pure
Pointillism – simply spots of colour – Karl Johan
Bergen’s gallery . It was a brief resumption
of my Impressionism – The Picture from rue La Fayette
was really only a motif for
French painters but I was in Paris after all –
The short strokes in the same direction I had long
used in Norway – The Frieze of Life took over more
and more space in my work and I was
of course also supported by the contemporary trends in painting
and literature – Symbolism – the simplification of Lines
(degenerated into Art Nouveau) iron constructions – a hint of
enigmatic rays and ethereal undulations and waves
My first Paris sojourn 1884 for 3 weeks
Velaskes interested me greatly – (Why has no
one noticed that my large portrait figures
have something to do with this?)
In the same way no one has ever noticed that
already at quite a young age I was deeply
interested in Couture ’s study of a shepherd in
our [National] gallery – The thin … ground
and the vibrantly resonating contours interested me greatly –
In other words the same teachers as Manet : Velasques and Couture !
