An Appreciation:
Edvard Munch

Edvard Munch, self-portrait

Edvard Much was a Norwegian artists in the late 19th century and the first half of the 20th century. Norway's most famous artist, Munch developed a unique introspective style that combined figurative work with elements of modern abstract art.

Born in 1863 into a middle class family, Edvard grew up in Kristiania, now Oslo. His mother died when he was five and her death was followed by that of his favorite sister a few years later from tuberculous. Another sister was later diagnosed as insane. Edvard, who was a sickly child was plagued with worries that all of this was hereditary. “Angels of fear, sorrow and death stood by my side since the day I was born.”

Munch's father, a doctor, was the son of a priest and was almost fanatically religious. He disapproved of his son's interest in art, his Bohemian friends and his creations. Nonetheless, he grudgingly subsidized Edvard's endeavors from time to time.

To pass the time during his frequent childhood illnesses, Edvard turned to drawing. By the time he was a teenager, art dominated his life. After briefly studying engineering, Munch entered the Royal School of Art and Design in Kristiania in 1881. Much of Munch's early work was inspired by the French Impressionists, who were considered quite radical at the time. At the same time, Munch adopted a Bohemian lifestyle and his thinking was much influenced by Hans Jaeger..

During a trip to Paris to see the Worlds Fair of 1889, Munch became impressed by the contemporary art he saw there, especially the works of Paul Gauguin, Vincent Van Gogh and Henri Toulouse-Lautrec. However, Munch had to return to Norway when his father died. Depressed, Edvard assumed financial-responsibility for what remained of the family..

Eventually Munch developed his own unique artistic style. It was based on introspection and self-reflection. Munch's subjects became the demons that haunted him - - death, insanity, his relationships with women, jealousy, loneliness, the isolation of modern life.

At first, Munch's works were derided by the established critics.. However, he slowly built up a favorable reputation among the avant garde, particularly during his stay in Berlin in 1892. After spending four years in Berlin, he moved to Paris where again the critics disapproved but the public crowded his exhibitions. With his first financial prosperity, he bought a summer house in Asgardstrand, Norway, which he called the “Happy House.”

But is was not a case of living happily ever after from that point on. Munch was a hard-drinker and frequently became involved in brawls. He had relationships that appeared promising but which always fell apart as he believed he had no right to marry given his worries about hereditary diseases and insanity. Eventually, all of this led to a nervous breakdown in 1908.

Following treatment in Copenhagen, Much returned to Norway. His attitude toward life had improved and his artistic focus shifted to landscapes and scenes of farm life. The growing acceptance of his work by the public and by Oslo's museums served to fortify his new attitude. Munch was made a knight of the Royal Order of St. Olav.

He spent most of the rest of his life in seclusion on his Norwegian estate. When the Nazis occupied Norway in 1940, Munch's art was declared degenerate and subject to confiscation. Consequently, Munch had to hide his works and lived in fear of their discovery.. However, when Munch died in 1944, the Nazi government orchestrated the funeral so as to give the false impression that Munch had been one of their supporters.

Munch bequeathed his remaining works to the City of Oslo. Inasmuch as he was reluctant to part with “his children,” his bequest involved a large number of works. They were used as the basis for Oslo's Munch Museum.

---

Click here for more artist biographies

Art reviews and articles index

Above: Munch's best known work is “The Scream” - a work that resonates with many people as symbolic of the stress of modern life. Munch painted two versions of it, the first in 1893 and then later in 1910. He also made pastel drawings of it and used the image in various other works.
Below: "Small Lake with Boat."  Munch's early work was influenced by the French Impressionists.

---

Above: Munch had a passionate relationship with Tulla Larsen, a liberated, upper-middle class woman. She wanted to marry Munch but fears that insanity and hereditary diseases ran in his family caused Munch to decline. After she married another artist, Munch sawed in two one of the portraits he had painted of them.
Below: "The Sick Child".

---

Artist appreciation - Edvard Munch