Scott S.

As is the case with all fine art museums, what can you say about them but they are great? This museum is certainly no exception. This museum focuses on the artworks of Munch. This being said, they also show exhibits of other artists. These exhibits are generally on the top floor of this museum. This is just something to keep in mind, as these exhibitions rotate, and what is there during one period of time probably won't be there during the next. But, what will be at this museum throughout time is the works of Munch. This is a Large very well designed museum. How it works is that you enter on the ground floor, you buy your tickets, and then you can explore the museum. As is commonly the case in the fall, winter, and even spring months in Oslo, it can be a little bit cold. So, when you attend this museum you may be wearing a coat . No problem. They have a very nice cloakroom where you can deposit your coats and/or your backpacks so you don't have to carry them around with you. This cloakroom is also on the ground floor. Once inside the museum, you'll go upstairs and you begin to see the various works at Munch. They have a great collection of this works. It is truly inspiring to see the number of works of his that this museum exhibits. One of the main focuses of this museum is his most famous painting, The Scream. This museum actually exhibits three versions of this work in an isolated room. As the main artwork of Scream was stolen in the past, these works are highly protected. The way the exhibition of these three works is presented is that every half an hour one of these pieces is exposed for the public to see. One thing to keep in mind, however, is that the main, most known painting of The Scream is only shown every other half hour. So, if you want to be sure to see all three of these paintings, which I highly suggest you do, you may have to wait a little while. This really isn't a problem, however. There are many other works of art for you to view while you spend your time in this museum. Overall, this museum is one of the true treasures of Oslo. You can spend a lot of time here, taking in these great works of art. After you're done viewing the art, or maybe even in-between, they have a very nice café on the lower level. Here, you can grab a tasty treat, light meal, or a latte or another type of drink, and sit back and enjoy the atmosphere both inside and/or outside. Again, great museum. One of the main locations that you must visit in Oslo.

Van D.

The Munch Museum houses an exceptional collection that highlights the full range of the artist's oeuvre, with several floors of curated exhibition rooms. During our visit, there was free entry after 6 p.m., and both tourists and locals strolled the halls. Of course, the main attraction is the fourth-floor display of The Scream, which offers three versions of the globally famous work. They are rotated on a 30-minute basis, with only one version on display at any given time in order to protect the grouping from overexposure (each has metal doors that slide shut across the front, when not on view). And to compare and contrast among these and the final version of the painting, visitors can easily head to the National Museum, which is only a short walk away -- both are well worth a visit!

While in Oslo, I made sure to visit this museum. I am a big fan of all kinds of art, and I knew this museum was going to be great. With floor upon floor of artwork, I was not disappointed, but when I walked into the first exhibit, I was slightly more than surprised. As you walk up to the museum, you are immediately struck by its size. At 13 stories, it is a sight to behold and looks incredibly overwhelming. What I found out later is that several of these floors are not available to tour (for the public), meaning it is smaller than you would think- only seven floors of exhibitions. The top two floors are a restaurant and rooftop bar. So, it's small, but if you are worried about taking four hours in the museum, don't. After getting my ticket, I headed up to the first exhibit on floor three. This exhibit depicted art from Vanessa Baird. I'll be brutally honest. I did not like this exhibit whatsoever. The artwork was much... different than the rest (look up her work and you'll understand). So, not my thing. I also thought it was a little strange to get people to see this as their first exhibit. After walking out of there wondering what I was getting myself into if that was the first exhibit, I continued up. Thankfully, the next floor was much more tame. This is where Munch's art started being displayed, and it was awesome. He is an incredibly talented artist, and he had an enormous amount of artwork that was able to be displayed. The artwork here was broken down into several different categories, with great descriptions of what they represented, with enough left out so you could draw your own conclusions about the artwork. This floor is where the Scream paintings are displayed. I was able to time it so I could see both the most famous version of Scream, as well as a sketch (30min intervals of time to switch between). Along with the rest, there were a lot of great paintings to see here and analyze. The fourth floor was Munch's bigger (physically) paintings. I had never seen any of those paintings, and they were very interesting, especially "The Human Mountain", flanked on either side by two other paintings, with the three combining to present the reasons why people are ambitious: lust for power and greed, compared to the desire to better the world and help those around them. The following floor displayed Munch's woodcuts, and also a workshop where you can make a frottage copy of some designs. This exhibit was smaller than the others, but I still thought it was educational and interesting to see. On floor nine was the exhibit by Arif- a Norwegian R&B artist. I thought this exhibit was interesting, but also much different than the rest. It included a video created by Arif that explores several themes. Don't ask me which themes, because it was kind of confusing, but if that's your thing go for it. After the film, there is also a studio where you can sometimes catch Arif working. When I went I don't think Arif was working, just these two other guys. Floor ten was interesting contemporary art, but also not really my thing. It was a story about these two humans who became bird gods, and then blocked off the offerings from the real gods (the 12 Olympians). It was pretty strange (to me), but it is art nonetheless. The final floor of exhibits returns to Munch's artwork. Like the rest of his work, I saw a lot of new paintings that I had never seen before up to this point. Two or three of the paintings here were being reframed when I was there, so I was not able to see them. However, this was not an enormous problem, as the rest of the exhibit made up for it multiple times over. Again, a lot of quality work, and it was pretty big. So you were able to spend a decent amount of time here. Overall, a great museum with a ton of art. Although some of it was a little strange, the amount of works from Munch a several other similar artists was great. It doesn't take an enormous amount of time to go through, but you get a great experience that is worth both your time and your money.

Alice G.

7 stories of Munch! Feel the feelings and understand expressionism. Angst. Mental Illness, anxiety. It's all there. Spend the day.

Martine K.

I learned a lot about Edvard Munch and his artwork and I find him very macabre. So this was perfect for me as far as as museums go because I like the dark side. You will learn about the two pieces of work that were easily stolen from the museum (Scream and The Madonna). They have since been recovered although they are slightly damaged and now guarded heavily. This museum is easily done in an hour or less.

Ashley O.

We read mixed reviews about the museum so we weren't sure if we should go. Some wrote that there were only a few rooms to the museum so you didn't really get to see much of the collection so it wasn't with the cost of admission. Based on a review from yesterday, we decided to give it a shot. It turned out wonderful! We didn't get to see The Scream but we did see several of his other well know paintings. There was a booklet you could pickup entering the gallery which had a lot of information on many of the important pieces. It was very informative (and you turn it back in when you're done for the next patron so you're recycling !). An added bonus we also got to watch two videos in the downstairs. One was on Hannah, one of his models he used in many of his works. I don't know if I've ever watched a documentary from the perspective of an artists model. Very interesting!

Vince V.

This is a small, one-level, 7-room (or so) museum a bit away from downtown Oslo. From downtown, take the eastbound Metro (subway) and stop at the Toyen station. They have a lovely giftshop, coffee shop and a high-tech audioguide built into an iPod touch -- the most high-tech I've seen. Very cool. However, the scream is not housed here -- you'll find it at the National Gallery.