Concerning Jealousy
Whitney Claflin, Pati Hill, Stella Sieber, Graham Hamilton, Wanwen Zhang and unknown artist

Curated by Charlotte Berg and Jackson Beyda

Accompanied by a publication with writings by Agnes Callard, Graham Hamilton, and Henrike Elisabeth Kohpeiß as well as an introduction by the curators.

Supported by the Stiftung Stark and the Checkpoint Charlie Stiftung.

Introduction to the publication Concerning Jealousy

In 1895, Edvard Munch produced the first painting in a sequence of works all titled “Jealousy.” The image depicts a romantic triad consisting of Dagny Juel, her husband, writer Stanisław Przybyszewski, and Munch himself. Munch can be seen in the background, in amorous embrace with Juel, while Przybyszewski occupies the foreground, rendered in green, his mask-like face looking towards the viewer in distorted angst. Over the proceeding forty years, Munch would produce twelve variations of that same painting. Although the series could be read as a continuation of Munch’s ongoing interest in allegory, the image reveals a psychic investment in the scene of infidelity which exceeds mere disinterested depiction. “Jealousy” would repeatedly stage the discord between Munch and his contemporary by carefully fixing the characters in their respective roles of seducer, betrayed, and object of desire. The conflict between Munch and Przybyszewski was thus mediated through the painterly presentation of Juel’s affection. When preparing “Jealousy” for an exhibition in Paris, Munch was forced to withdraw the work out of personal concern: 

“I had traveled to Paris to hold an exhibition there. Then they showed up, and I had to leave with my paintings because it was indeed the two of them that I had painted—him green and her naked. The exhibition in Paris came to nothing […] This woman-related affair ruined a lot for me.”(1)

Concerning Jealousy Intro
Concerning Jealousy Publication
Floor Plan
Review (Mousse)