Edvard Munch

Edvard Munch was a Norwegian painter, best known for his work The Scream, which became one of the most iconic images in art history.

During his studies at the Royal School of Art and Design in today's Oslo, Kristiania, Munch was heavily influenced by the local nihilist Hans Jæger and led a bohemian lifestyle. He had an inherited mental condition that caused him to struggle psychologically. With Jæger's encouragement, Munch started reflecting his psychological and emotional state to his paintings. He used art as an outlet for his dark and macabre visions and nightmares.

Munch spent four years in Berlin, during which he sketched out his ideas that later evolved into his major work, The Frieze of Life. In Berlin, he became acquainted with many international art critics, writers and artists. One of them was August Strindberg, the Swedish dramatist and intellectual whom he painted in 1892. Together they frequented the tavern Zum schwarzen Ferkel at the corner of Unter den Linden and Neue Wilhelmstraße in Berlin. 

As one of the most recognisable paintings in art, The Scream is Munch's most famous work. There are four main versions of it; two pastels and two paintings, along with numerous lithographs. The Scream became a symbol as an expression of anxiety and the human condition. Munch wrote in his diary about how he came to paint The Scream: "I was walking down the road with two friends when the sunset; suddenly, the sky turned as red as blood. I stopped and leaned against the fence, feeling unspeakably tired. Tongues of fire and blood stretched over the bluish-black fjord. My friends went on walking while I lagged behind, shivering with fear. Then I heard the enormous, infinite scream of nature."

Edvard Munch was a very productive artist and created more than thousands of art pieces throughout his career. Our collection focuses on a selection of black and white and colour lithographs including the famous The Scream.