10 Essential Paintings by Edvard Munch You Should Know

1. Self-Portrait

Edvard Munch (1863–1944) grew up in the Norwegian countryside, shaped by a strict father and significant familial illness. The deaths of his mother and elder sister from tuberculosis, alongside his younger sister’s mental health struggles, profoundly impacted him. Munch was preoccupied with the likelihood of suffering from mental illness himself, which contributed to a breakdown later fueled by alcoholism.

This striking self-portrait, one of several he created during his lifetime, captures that inherent instability. Munch emerges from the shadows, his form blending into the distressed background, while vague, specter-like figures linger around him. His pallid visage and the cigarette resting in his anxiety-ridden fingers symbolize both a contemporary lifestyle and a barrier between him and the outside world, as he gazes forth, as if startled by a sudden flash of light.

2. Naturalism

In his early years, Munch focused on landscapes and family portraits characterized by a naturalistic style. In Evening, his sister Laura is depicted sitting outside their family’s vacation residence by the fjord at Vrengen. The palette of soft blues, greens, and yellows reflects the influence of his art instructor, Christian Krohg, who was inspired by the French realist Jules Bastien-Lepage. The delicate brushwork hints at values found in Impressionism.

Knowing of Laura’s illness adds a layer of melancholy to her introspective gaze off into the distance. Elements like the undulating shoreline and the cropped figure foreground would become recurring motifs in Munch’s future creations. Yet, this work embodies an unembellished beauty, emphasizing the recollection of a tranquil summer evening.

3. A European Artist

While Munch is the most celebrated artist from Norway, he traveled extensively during early career stages and connected with various European art communities. His time in Paris began in 1889, interrupted by his father’s passing, immersing him in an energetic, diverse artistic atmosphere that shaped his evolution. In Paris, he created pieces like Rue Lafayette, reflecting angled street perspectives reminiscent of Claude Monet and Lucien Pissarro.

After an invitation to exhibit in Berlin in 1892, his gathering received significant attention despite being shut down after merely one week. Yet this exposure spurred his career, allowing him to explore his artistic identity further. Munch discovered like-minded spirits in Berlin, including Swedish playwright and artist August Strindberg, and in 1904, showcased twenty pieces with the Vienna Secession.

At the Roulette Table captures the thrilling yet suffocating atmosphere akin to Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s nightclub scenes, while its flat forms echo Paul Gauguin’s explorative Synthetism. This reflects Munch’s dynamic engagement with modernity and Post-Impressionist art.

4. The Frieze of Life

In Berlin, Munch conceptualized his series, the Frieze of Life. In 1902, he displayed 20 pieces divided into categories: the Seed of Love, Love’s Blossoming and Decline, Life Anxiety, and Death. The works served as autobiographical reflections, intertwining Munch’s experiences of love and loss, specifically the memories of his mother and sister. They marked a pivotal transition from his earlier naturalism toward art expressing inner sentiment and fundamental themes of human existence.

Munch described the Frieze as symphonic; he employed titles like The Voice and The Scream to evoke sound, blurring the distinction between art forms and sensory experiences. He embraced simplified shapes, symbolic colors, and recurring imagery—trees, moonlight, shorelines—creating universal symbols of love, betrayal, and mortality.

The Dance of Life encapsulates a journey traversing from innocence to passion and finally to death, mirroring Munch’s personal romantic experiences. The central pair may seem aloof, yet the male figure appears overwhelmed by the woman’s flowing garment. Notably, a moon figure appears as a continuous motif, reflecting his recurring exploration of these themes.

5. Portraits

Throughout his lifetime, Munch produced a variety of portraits, encompassing his self-portraits, as well as portraits of friends and relatives. Though often overlooked, these portraits embody similar thematic elements found in his other artwork: vivid color symbolism, stylized forms, and a disquieting portrayal of character.

Felix Auerbach, a German physicist and art patron who later supported Expressionist artists like Ernst Kirchner as well as commissioned the Bauhaus architect Walter Gropius to design his residence in 1924, is depicted by Munch in this commissioned work. Here, Auerbach is shown as a figure of the bourgeoisie adorned in a suit, cigar, and watch chain, yet the sparkle in his eyes and a bright, starry background—reminiscent of Vincent van Gogh—convey a playful spirit.

6. Illness

In 1908, Munch voluntarily checked himself into a Danish sanatorium for treatment of anxiety and hallucinations, partially triggered by his excessive alcohol use. Though the stay lasted eight months and was not solely restorative, it marked a significant turning point in his artistic path. Post-recovery, he traveled less, opting instead for tranquility in the Norwegian countryside, primarily at his estate in Ekely.

The pervasive themes of illness and death manifested throughout Munch’s oeuvre, exemplified by the multiple renditions of The Sick Child he created from 1885 until 1926. The subject combined memories of his sister’s demise with his experiences as his father’s medical assistant. In the 1907 version, sweeping, vertical strokes and a turbulent surface convey the burdens of illness, while the child’s face nearly blurs into the pillow, signalling her impending demise, as the mother mourns heavily beside her.

7. Public Commissions

Munch secured a prestigious commission in 1911 to design artwork for the Aula, the Festival Hall at Oslo University. Despite the committee’s preference for a traditional approach to match the building’s neoclassical aesthetics, Munch advocated vigorously for his designs through public showcases and press advocacy. His eventual choice of a pastel palette and a reference to his earlier style demonstrated an understanding of the location’s conservative expectations.

This significant commission included 11 sizable canvases, prompting Munch to create extensive preparatory works and a custom studio to accommodate paintings nearly eight meters across. Reflecting Munch’s intentions, the themes he explored were, in his words, “both distinctively Norwegian and universally human,” featuring titles such as History and The Source.

Perhaps the best-known panel is The Sun, which showcases a stylized sun radiating light from the canvas’s center. The radiant beams extend dynamically outward, and the coastline depicted intertwines symbolism with recognizable landscapes from Kragerø. The sun emerges not only as a source of warmth and life but also symbolizes the university’s mission of education and enlightenment, marrying both the particular with the universal.

8. Late Landscapes

In his later years, Munch adopted a more Expressionist approach characterized by bold colors, dynamic brush strokes, and an intended rawness. Residing in the countryside on property that had once served as a garden, many of his later works feature pastoral landscapes and homages to the laborers of the land. These reflect both his childhood experiences and his longstanding admiration for Van Gogh.

The figure in this piece is monumental, echoing the mass and hues of the surrounding mountains while rooting himself in the earth. The large cabbages he clutches further connect him to the cultivated land. His undefined visage, grand scale, and tilted perspective propel him toward the viewer, evoking elements found in Jean-François Millet’s The Sower. However, his portrayal remains grounded; he is merely a man in a field, embodying a return to simplicity.

9. Repetition and Obsession

The Sick Child illustrates Munch’s tendency toward returning to certain subjects throughout his career with almost obsessive dedication. He created a second version of The Dance of Life in 1925, and motifs like the seated figure from Evening reappear throughout his oeuvre, notably in various iterations of Melancholy. This pattern illustrates the personal significance of recurring themes and Munch’s compulsion to revisit his anxieties through his art.

The embracing couple likely represents his most pervasive fixation, encapsulating a blend of his conflicted experiences in relationships. In the 1897 depiction of The Kiss, the couple shuts the world away, merging in darkness within their chamber, emphasizing intense intimacy. This close-up focus is a deviation from an earlier 1892 version, wherein the figures are more distinctly defined. Furthermore, the print version increases erotic tension by depicting the couple unclothed.

However, the kiss can also take on darker connotations as Munch infuses it with notions of violence—the kiss is likened to a vampire’s bite. What seems initially romantic morphs into a parasitic encounter, suggesting Munch’s fear of losing his own identity and vitality through intimacy, as the darkness surrounding the couple feels less inviting and more menacing.

10. The Scream

There are several iterations of Munch’s most renowned piece, comprising drawings and prints. The artist conveyed that the inspiration emanated from a genuine experience of witnessing the sunset create blood-red clouds, instilling a sense that nature itself was crying out. The vivid emotions, symbolic employment of nature and color, sinuous forms, and exaggerated perspectives are evident throughout Munch’s work. Nonetheless, the poignant anxiety captured in The Scream features an especially striking figure and nearly featureless background, amplifying its dramatic intensity.

A deeper examination reveals that Munch’s artistic range extends well beyond the confines of The Scream. His art explores life’s complexities—illustrating a spectrum where love can be both euphoric and painful. Nature, his family, personal connections, and contributions to contemporary art are woven into the fabric of his creations. The interplay of joy and sorrow is consistently evident in Munch’s work, holding layers of nuance and depth, and showcasing the diversity of his artistic expression.