The old pear tree in the courtyard of the house Am Strom 53 became familiar to the painter during his stay. With the 1907 painting "Old Man in Warnemünde", Munch created a monument to the Warnemünde pilot Carl Nielsen and the pear tree in equal measure.
Pear trees usually only live for about 60 to 70 years. This one - according to dendrochronological examinations - has an age of at least 220 years.
The tree, which still bore abundant fruit in 2018, was severely damaged in a storm on the night of 9-10 September 2019. As a result, it had to be heavily pruned and shored up.
In recent years, we had won shoots in time. The Edvard Munch House gave two of them to the new Munch Museum in Oslo on the occasion of its inauguration in October 2021. The little trees are now growing on the forecourt of the "MUNCH".
What's next for the pear tree?
In 2024, it will be the starting point for artistic research and production proposed by Norwegian artist Crispin Gurholt. The handcrafted production of paper, charcoal and graphite from the wood of the pear tree, which gives the Edvard Munch House its identity, is intended to accompany the artists' creative process of understanding the tree as a mediator between the public and art.