Another Edvard Munch goes on the auction block

Norwegian artist Edvard Munch painted Hagen i Åsgårdstrand in 1904-1905, eleven years after his most famous painting, The Scream.

It depicts the garden at Åsgårdstrand, south of Oslo, where Munch first visited in 1899. He rented a small cabin there and later bought it.

The post-impressionist landscape in this painting is the subject, unlike most of his previous work at this point in time.

During 1904-05, Munch was painting vibrant landscapes with swirling lines and heavy, saturated colors. The lines give some insight into the troubled state of his mind during this period.

Like many painters at the time, Munch was fascinated by Japanese prints, with their flat composition.

In the painting to be sold by Christie's auction house at the end of June, the composition is flat yet the paint is textured and contains a highly keyed pallet.

The influence of Munch at this time on other painters is illustrated in the style and the colors, which became common during the short-lived yet highly influential fauve, and also the general expressionist movement.

At this point of time, painters were returning to nature, away from urban landscape and portraiture. Munch's painting seeks an idyl, picked up by the German Die Brücke artists.

Munch's painting is expected to fetch between $2.5 and $3.5 million.