Edvard Munch

Edvard Munch (1863 – 1944) was a Norwegian painter and printmaker, arguably the most well-known artist from the Scandinavian countries, recognized as one of the pioneers of expressionist painting. Rise Art presents exceptional original lithographs by Edvard Munch today. Browse through his gallery to discover them and learn a little more about this enigmatic artist.

AUTHOR OF ONE OF THE GREATEST MASTERPIECES IN ART HISTORY

Edvard Munch is internationally known for his work The Scream (Skrik in Norwegian). This work has been extensively reproduced and parodied. Painted in tempera on cardboard, it is actually one version of a series of 5 works (three paintings, one pastel, and one lithograph) created between 1893 and 1917.

The words left by the artist himself in his journal in 1892 allow us to trace the genesis of The Scream: "I was walking along a path with two friends – the sun was setting – suddenly the sky turned blood red. I paused, feeling exhausted, and leaned on the fence – there was blood and tongues of fire above the blue-black fjord and the city – my friends walked on, and I stood there trembling with anxiety – and I sensed an infinite scream passing through nature."

A PAINTING YOU MIGHT KNOW BY ANOTHER NAME

Although The Scream is Edvard Munch's most recognisable artwork, you might know another artwork of his called Love and Pain. Created in 1993, it is best known under the name Vampire, although the name didn't come from Edvard Munch himself.

Picturing a woman with long red hair holding a man on her lap in a powerful embrace, the painting is veiled with mystery. The name of Vampire came from speculations around the painting that the woman might be a vampire holding the man captive. Despite the painting portraying a particularly loving embrace between a woman who seems to be consoling the man on her lap, many try to find a deeper meaning to the painting, and are intrigued by this embrace, which seems more complex than meets the eye.

ILLNESS AND DEATH IN THE BACKGROUND

To understand Edvard Munch's works, it is important to know certain elements of his life. Indeed, from a young age, he was confronted with illness and death. As a child, he experienced the loss of his mother and sister, taken by illness. Fragile himself, he continued his existence with a sword of Damocles hanging over his head: the fear of death and the illness that could cause it. Numerous episodes of depression plagued him.

His expressionism is marked by the desire to symbolize human emotions – particularly anguish and pain. The Scream is also part of the Frieze of Life, a series of paintings that form an allegory of the course of life.

EDVARD MUNCH'S CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

Edvard Munch, given his legendary artist status, is exhibited often in galleries all around the world. In recent years, you could find Munch at the Courtauld, the Musée d'Orsay, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the MoMa and more.

In 2021, Edvard Munch was exhibited at the Royal Academy of Art with another Rise Art artist, Tracey Emin, who is particularly inspired by Edvard Munch's art. Tracey Emin has been extremely significant to the contemporary art scene for decades, and this exhibition allowed Emin to exhibit Munch's artworks next to hers to reflect on the impact his art has had on hers. The exhibition was particularly personal to Tracey Emin, showcasing her passion for the artist and his complex representation of womanly figures, but was also an opportunity to display some of Munch's most beautiful paintings alongside the paintings and artworks of Tracey Emin.

Edvard Munch was particularly significant for any artist inspired by the themes of death and mourning, and the exhibition of his works everywhere around the world, either in solo shows or alongside other artists, is the proof he left an indelible mark on the art world and the common imaginary.

EDVARD MUNCH ON RISE ART

Discover incredible limited edition signed prints by Edvard Munch on Rise Art, which you will notice are particularly relevant to Edvard Munch's biography and complicated life.

These unique limited edition signed prints explore themes such as anxiety, sickness, love, and you will even be able to see in Anxiété / Anxiety / Angst, 1895 a background you might find familiar to Edvard Munch's famous Scream.

Speaking of The Scream , a recent addition to our collection is a print from Edvard Munch titled Le Cri / The Scream / Geschrei - 1895, which is a lithography signed at the front by Munch himself. The print is what we can imagine to be one of Edvard Munch's first coloured drafts after the creation of the famous The Scream, which he created in 1893, only 2 years before this.

Edvard Munch's lithographs and prints on Rise Art always present intriguing characters with paper white skin, a characteristic of Munch's creations. The people portrayed in his lithographs seem to have gotten the life sucked out of them, whether man or woman, leaving only the bodily shell. Edvard Munch's prints fascinate because of the cadaveric quality of his characters, a fact that might be due to Munch's long life of sickness.

Nonetheless, you can still find lithographs by Edvard Munch with very colourful backgrounds, which contrast with the people represented! For example, La Madone / Madonna - 1895 represents a beautiful woman with the same deadly quality than Munch's usual characters. However, the background is still in a beautiful red, which contrasts with the woman and the small character at her side. We can also associate this artwork to Edvard Munch's famous Love and Pain, as the woman in Munch's original painting looks particularly similar to the one in the lithograph.

We also recommend your browse our collections of expressionistic art to explore the impact Munch has had on the expressionistic movement as well as discover our contemporary Norwegian artists. As mentioned previously, you can also discover the collection of Tracy Emin, who is particularly inspired by the style of Edvard Munch and works over a wide range of mediums such as painting, sculpture and printmaking.