Death
Munch
once said: "illness, insanity and death were the black angels that kept
watch over my cradle, accompanied me all my life."
November-December's "Munch of the Month" takes a look at
Munch's preoccupation with sickness and death. He was much
affected by his own illness and the ilnesses of others in his family.
Without being morbid, with death being the entire
theme of
this last issue of "Munch of the Month", it is important to show this
significant aspect of Munch's life.
The Sick child (2
versions)
Picture credit: Edvard Munch: The Frieze of Life.
The first (on the left) was painted in1896 and the second in 1907.
Both were oil on canvas. Notice the difference
in technique. In 1896, Munch also created a
lithograph entitled "The Sick Child". (See next)
The Sick Child
Picture credit: Edvard Munch: The Frieze of Life.
Several of Munch's "death" paintings focused on a room and all who had
come to be with the dying person. While a person is dying or
dead, Munch's focus is the impact on those in the room.
Deathbed
Picture credit: Edvard Munch: The Frieze of Life.
Deathbed (Pastel)
Picture credit: Edvard Munch: The Frieze of Life.
Death in the sickroom
Picture credit: Edvard Munch: The Frieze of Life.
Death in the
sickroom (lithograph)
Picture credit: Edvard Munch: The Frieze of Life.
Spring
Picture credit: Great Modern Masters: Edvard Munch.
Even with a title like "Spring", with new life beginning
outside, the one inside is losing hers.
One reviewer of this painting wrote "We All Die Alone. This
picture shows the whole absurdity and cruelty of life. There is so much
light and breeze coming through the window, filtering through and
swelling the curtains, filling the entire room. The light, the breeze
and the flowers all symbolize life. The spring itself is one of the
most important symbols of life. Against this background of light and
strength, the girl seems frail, weak and helpless. She is not looking
at the window, she seems already resigned to her fate. The girl is
dying although everything outside is coming to life. We will all die
like this one day in a world throbbing with life. We won't be able to
scream anymore and the nature will follow its course as if we never
existed. Does life really have any meaning at all or is it just a cruel
farce"?
Dead mother, and
child
Picture credit: Edvard Munch: The Frieze of Life.
Notice the connection to "The Scream" and the positioning of the
child's hands by her head.
We finish our 2008 series, "Munch
of the month" with Munch's most
well known painting, and find that, like so much of Munch's work that
it connects, not only to the painting above but to other aspects of his
art as well.
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our site.