Anxiety (1984)

“Anxiety” is a painting done on oil canvas by Edvard Munch in 1984. The painting depicts three people staring at the viewer- a woman in the front, two men behind her, and a plethora of people in the background that blend with the entirety of the painting itself. The sunset in the sky is a heavy, dark orange red which Munch incorporated to convey an anxious or unsettling feeling. The woman’s face appears to look alert, as if she is feeling frightened by something or someone. The meaning of this painting is to demonstrate Munch’s mental state of mind during the time that this painting was made.

The Dead Mother (1899-1900)

“The Dead Mother” is an oil canvas painting that was done by Edvard Munch in between 1899-1900. This painting serves a very personal purpose to Munch as this depicts a young girl standing besides the bedside of her mother, who is visibly deceased. In Munch’s own life, his mother has passed away from tuberculosis in 1868 when he was very young. Munch’s intentions for this painting was to demonstrate how he felt in the passing of his mother, and what the aftermath was to his mental health. Similarly to Munch’s feelings, the girl in the painting has her hands over the sides of her head, which is showcasing her distress and agony.

“The Sick Child” is a painting done by Edvard Munch in 1896. Similarly to “The Dead Mother” and it’s meaning, this painting is also very personal to Edvard Munch. The painting features a young girl who Munch had observed sitting distraught when he accompanied his father, a doctor, to treat her brother’s broken leg. The rapid brushwork and vivid colors convey the emotions of having to live through a traumatic experience. In Munch’s personal life, he dealt with the death of his older sister, Sophie Munch, in 1877, who passed away from tuberculosis as well.

Madonna (1894)

“Madonna” is a lithographic and woodcut art piece done by Edvard Munch in 1894. The art piece features a nude woman floating in a blood-red border, with swirly lines of turquoise blue, black, and beige. During the 1890s, social customs and the status of women were on the brink of change, which meant that women were given the greater chance of expressing sexual freedom that was often laced with a hint of fear. To heighten the charge in his paintings/prints, he developed a modern expressionist style by adding in outer rings in dark colors. Munch’s life surrounding women was also a sensitive topic to him because of the tragedies of his mother and sister, so this was often incorporated in his work.

Scream (1893)

“Scream” is one of Edvard Munch’s famous and most well known painting in the expressionist art world. This painting was done by Edvard Munch in 1893. It features a man holding the side of his face, mouth is open so that it looks like he is screaming. There are two people in the background, and they blend well with the background of the painting. The sky is a mixture of bright oranges and yellows, with a hint of blue stemming from the sea in the painting. The Scream painting was not only a product of stress, but also a product of internal turmoil that was happening through Munch himself. Throughout his life, Munch has dealt with a lot of mental health issues, and painting was one of his main ways of rationalizing his feelings and emotions.

Puberty (1894)

“Puberty” is an oil painting made by Edvard Munch in 1894. In the painting, it depicts a young nude girl sitting on the edge of her bed, covering her womanhood, and looking at the viewer, almost as if she’s trying to say “Hey, don’t stare at me like that.” In this painting, Munch’s intentions were to demonstrate the idea of a young woman dealing with her early stages of puberty and the approach to sexual maturity in a way that is frank and plain. Behind the girl, is a dark shadow which could possibly be a shadow of herself. The shadow represents the projection of the girl’s turmoil and inner state of mind. The way she stares at the viewer can also indicate that she is, in fact embarrassed that she as a young girl is evolving into a young woman.

Vampire I (1895)

“Vampire” is an oil painting done by Edvard Munch in 1895. Surprisingly, Munch had initially called it ‘Love and Pain’ but to someone’s dismay, they interpreted as a man being locked in a vampire’s embrace- or better yet, being bitten. But in actuality, the painting depicts a man and a woman embracing, with the woman kissing the man on his neck. Behind them, there is a dark, hallow shadow which almost makes the painting look eerie and uncanny. This painting could possibly go back to how sexual freedom for women were being widely expressed, with undertones of fear. This painting expresses the fact that because now that women had more freedom to their sexuality, this allowed men to be more submissive under the embrace of women.

Kissing Couples in the Park (1904)

“Kissing Couples in the Park” is an oil painting done by Edvard Munch in 1904. This painting appears more vibrant, and joyful compared to a lot of his other works. In this painting, the sky is a light blue, the grass and trees are a vibrant green, and couples are sitting on park benches, having a sentimental moment with each other. This painting is one of the paintings that people have argued about “being unfinished”. For Munch being an expressionist artist, it’s important to him that he conveys his message in his paintings through the use of hard brush strokes. The hard brush strokes along with the bright , vibrant colors represent the strong emotions that Munch wants to display in his artwork, but also how he feels internally, since art was an outlet for Munch throughout the hard times.