Art on Death by Edvard MunchIn addition to his most well-known image, The Scream, the Norwegian painter Edvard Munch created a great deal of art pondering life and death. Through the paintings below, he expressed his own grief and experiences with death and the end-of-life, as well as that of mankind as a whole.
This painting shares the simple moments of paying our last respects to a loved one who has died.
This painting portrays Munch alone in the corner of his younger sister’s sickroom. His sister, Johanne Sophie, died of tuberculosis.
The grief of a loved one is clear in this painting, as the innocent child (also portraying Munch’s sister) lies ill and nears the end-of-life.
While light and life shines outside her window, this girl lies ill and dying, displaying in one cell the dichotomy of life.
This child stands alone in disbelief after the loss of her mother, while the adults busy themselves with the care needed at the end-of-life.
For more art on death, browse the archives of our Soulful Expressions column!
Source: Edvard Munch Gallery
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I didn’t know Edward Munch depicted so much pain and loss in his work. But it would be nice to hear a little bit about his life especially during the time period where he painted these paintings. I just thought it would add a little context and help us understand more what he was going through.
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