Edvard Munch

Edvard Munch – An iconic image of world art

A Norwegian-born expressionist painter born on Dec 12th, 1863, Edvard Munch lived a turbulent life represented in his paintings. As a child, he was often ill in the winter, so he had to be kept out of school. To pass the time Edvard spent his used to draw. He also had a sad childhood, as his mother died of tuberculosis after the birth of his youngest sister, and after ten years, his sister also died of the same disease. His father was also a bit of a religious fanatic who would read Edvard and his sister's ghost stories and the stories of Edgar Allen Poe. The vivid ghastly tales, combined with his poor health.

Way through troubles

 The young Munch was always paranoid and had nightmares of death, which he later incorporated into his artwork. In his teens, he moved from drawing and dabbling with watercolors to painting with oils, and he only spent one year in technical college before he left to follow his dream of being a painter. His early paintings brought much negative criticism, and his father mocked him for his artworks but continued to give him a living allowance. After years he was unhappy with Munch's paintings; he destroyed one of his nude paintings and refused to grant him any more money for his art supplies. In 1908, Munch faced reality and suffered from hallucinations and feelings of persecution as if he was on the brink of insanity. He began therapy, including a controlled diet and electrification, which stabilized his personality. After that, Edvard began his more financially and professionally successful phase in his life, where Edvard received many commissions and provided well for his family. He spent the last two decades of his life in isolation, painting at one of his many estates. He died in 1944 in Norway. 

Famous artwork

• 1885–1886: The Sick Child
• 1892: Evening on Karl Johan
• 1893: The Scream
• 1894: Ashes
• 1894–1895: Madonna
• 1895: Puberty
• 1895: Self-Portrait with Burning Cigarette
• 1895: Death in the Sickroom
• 1899–1900: The Dance of Life
• 1899–1900: The Dead Mother
• 1903: Village in Moonlight
• 1940–1942: Self Portrait: Between Clock and Bed