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Edvard Munch, born in the small Norwegian town of Ådalsbruk in 1863, led a tumultuous life, a reflection of which can be seen in his paintings. A century later, I entered the world in Elverum, a mere 15-minute drive away.
As a child, Munch grappled with frequent bouts of illness during the harsh winters, often being kept away from school. To occupy his time, he turned to drawing. His childhood was marked by tragedy, with the loss of his mother to tuberculosis shortly after the birth of his youngest sister, followed by the death of his favorite sister from the same illness nine years later. Additionally, his father, a somewhat fervent religious figure, entertained the family with ghost stories and tales from Edgar Allan Poe, fostering a fascination with the macabre in young Edvard. These vivid and eerie narratives, coupled with his fragile health, haunted Munch with nightmares and visions of death, elements that would later find their way into his artistic endeavors.
Edvard Munch
Born: December 12, 1863; Ådalsbruk in Løten, Norway
Died: 1944; Oslo, Norway
Nationality: Norwegian
Art Movement: Symbolism, Expressionism
Influenced by: Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Georges Seurat, Caspar David Friedrich
Influenced on: Egon Schiele, Wassily Kandinsky, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Max Beckmann, Paul Klee, Henri Matisse, Erich Heckel, Hans Andersen Brendekilde,
Teachers: Leon Bonnat
Art Institution: Akademie der Bildenden Künste München (Munich Academy), Munich, Germany
During his teenage years, he transitioned from experimenting with drawing and watercolors to working with oils, driven by his aspiration to become a painter. Despite attending technical college briefly, he abandoned his studies to pursue his artistic dreams. Initially, his early paintings faced harsh criticism, with his father expressing disapproval yet providing financial support. However, as dissatisfaction with Munch's art grew, his father destroyed one of his nude works and ceased funding his art supplies.
Munch embraced a nihilistic, bohemian lifestyle characterized by heavy drinking and brawling, much to his father's dismay. Following his father's death, which left the Munch family in dire financial straits, and feeling isolated by the loss of loved ones, Munch battled suicidal thoughts. His personal struggles and psychological complexities found expression in his art, which delved into internal emotions rather than portraying external reality. He held a deep attachment to his paintings, often refusing to sell them, likening them to his offspring, and opting to create reproductions for sale.
By the 1890s, Munch's artistic reputation began to improve, evidenced by increased exhibition attendance, although reviews remained mixed. In 1898, he entered a tumultuous relationship with Tulla Larsen, who desired marriage. Fearful of commitment, Munch fled from Tulla a year later. An altercation during a reconciliation attempt resulted in a gunshot injury to two of Munch's fingers, thwarting any chance of marriage.
In 1908, Munch experienced a severe mental breakdown, marked by hallucinations and paranoid delusions, pushing him to seek therapy, which included dietary changes and electrotherapy. This period marked a turning point toward greater stability and professional success, as he received numerous commissions and could provide for his family. He spent his final decades in seclusion, painting at various estates. Despite past allegations of Nazi sympathies, his legacy now includes thefts of his works, high prices at auctions, and his portrait featured on Norwegian currency.
The Scream(Skrik)
1893, Oslo Norway. 91 x 73.5 cm. Media: Oil, pastel, cardboard, tempera. European period. Location: National Gallery, Oslo, Norway
The Scream stands as the most iconic and widely reproduced of Munch's motifs, characterized by its vibrant colors, fluid lines, and profound impact that resonates universally.
Despite its stark simplification, the landscape depicted in the painting is identifiable as the Kristiania Fjord viewed from Ekeberg, offering a sweeping vista of the fjord, cityscape, and distant hills. In the background, two figures leisurely stroll along a path, possibly representing acquaintances referenced by Munch himself. However, it is the central figure that commands attention, its hands clasped to its head, mouth agape in a silent scream, amidst the undulating movement of the surrounding environment. The gender, age, and even humanity of this figure remain ambiguous.
Much like many of Munch's works, it is inferred that personal emotions and experiences served as the impetus for The Scream. Entries from his diaries hint at the existential anguish underpinning the painting, such as his recollection of a sunset imbued with a sense of primal terror: "I was walking along the road with two friends – Then the sun went down – The sky suddenly turned to blood and I felt a great scream in nature –."
First showcased at Munch's solo exhibition in Berlin in 1893 as a pivotal piece in "The Frieze of Life," The Scream has spurred extensive analysis and diverse interpretations. Additionally, Munch explored the motif through various mediums including drawings, pastels, and prints, with a later version housed in the Munch Museum.
Here are some of his paintings:
More information about his paintings you can find here.
The Sick Child (later)
1907, oil on canvas, 120 x 118.5 cm, European period.
The title "The Sick Child" (Norwegian: Det syke barn) encompasses six paintings alongside numerous lithographs, dry points, and etchings created by the Norwegian artist Edvard Munch (1863–1944) between 1885 and 1926. These artworks capture the moments preceding the death of his elder sister, Johanne Sophie (1862–1877), who succumbed to tuberculosis at the age of 14. Munch revisited this profoundly traumatic event repeatedly in his art, producing six completed oil paintings and numerous studies across various media spanning over 40 years. In these works, Sophie is typically depicted on her deathbed, often accompanied by a dark-haired, grieving woman presumed to be her aunt Karen, while studies frequently feature a cropped headshot of Sophie. Sophie is portrayed seated in a chair, visibly in pain, supported by a large white pillow, her gaze directed toward an ominous curtain likely symbolizing death. She wears a haunted expression, her hands clasped with those of the grieving woman, who appears unable to meet Sophie's eyes, her head bowed in anguish.
Throughout his career, Munch frequently revisited and produced multiple versions of his paintings, using them as a means to document his feelings of despair and survivor's guilt, having nearly succumbed to tuberculosis himself as a child. The Sick Child became an obsession for Munch, leading him to create numerous iterations in various formats over several decades, employing different models for each rendition.
Described as "a vivid study of the ravages of a degenerative disease," the series, including both the paintings and ancillary works, holds significant importance in Munch's body of work. An 1896 lithograph in black, yellow, and red fetched $250,000 at Sotheby's in 2001.
Each painting portrays Sophie in profile, struggling to breathe, a symptom of severe tuberculosis. She is supported by a thick white pillow, partially obscuring a circular mirror hung on the wall behind her, and covered by a dark blanket. With red hair and a sickly pallor, Sophie gazes towards a foreboding curtain, interpreted by many as a symbol of death.
At Sophie's bedside sits an older woman in black, holding her hand, their joined grip positioned centrally in each work, suggesting a deep emotional bond, likely of blood relation. This woman, likely Sophie's aunt Karen, appears more distressed than the child, her anguish palpable as she averts her gaze, her face obscured by her bowed head. A bottle sits on a nearby table, while a glass rests on another vaguely described surface to the right.
Author: Roger Blikkberget, Founder of VIladomat Fine Art Advisory
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