We've got Edvard Munch all wrong, said Nancy Durrant in The Times.
The common perception of the painter of "The Scream" is that he was an "angsty Nordic loner", a tortured soul isolated from his fellow man. He certainly had his demons – mental health problems and alcoholism – but Munch (1863-1944) was also "a social animal", with many friends who "cared deeply about him" and supported him at his lowest moments. We meet several of them over the course of this show, the first exhibition in Britain to focus solely on the Norwegian artist's "prolific" output as a portraitist.
Bringing together more than 40 pictures, it follows Munch's whole career, allowing us to observe how his style shifted over the years – from "the naturalism of his student days, seen in a contemplative image of his father", to his experiments with symbolism, vivid colours and contrasts. There are "superb" portraits of the bohemians of Kristiania (Oslo), such as the "charismatic anarchist" Hans Jaeger, and of many of the city's great and good. The paintings illustrate Munch's "psychological acuity", revealing him as a portraitist who strived "to capture his sitters' true nature or state of mind, whether they liked it or not".
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There are some "scintillating pictures" here, said Alastair Sooke in The Telegraph. Munch didn't produce many portraits of women, but those that he did are great, notably the "fiery" double portrait of two sisters, which "is animated by a strong and uncanny doubling effect". Yet for an artist known for his "vampiric femmes fatales and screaming ghouls beneath apocalyptic skies", it all feels a little tame. There are too many routine portraits of "moustachioed men, dressed in sober suits" – too many waistcoats and watch chains, and not enough drama. Respectable as this show is, it's "hard to get excited" about it.
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