Edvard

Edvard Munch is one of those ubiquitous artists about whom I didn't actually know much. Turns out he's pretty cool and has made more work than The Scream. This print is a 1901 woodcut from 2 blocks (one is three pieces) and it's called Melancholy (Evening). Munch considered himself a Symbolist, and one can also see strong Romantic influence in his work. It's evocative, emotional and expressive. He felt that his works captured only the essential, and that's why there are often open spaces that at the time looked "unfinished." He was both a painter and a printmaker, and is known for both media. He worked back and forth between painting and printmaking, really exploring themes and motifs in imagery. However, Munch turned to the reproductive process of printmaking partway through his career because it was so hard for him to sell paintings because he was so attached to them. I'm really drawn to Edvard Munch's aesthetic and themes - his work is sad and weird and makes you feel with him. It reminds me of the same feeling I get when I look at Francis Bacon's paintings (a quick google search tells me that he also made prints. I should learn more). There's something visceral in them that connects to me emotionally.

Katie Walker

Source: Elizabeth Prelinger and Michael Parke-Taylor, The Symbolist Prints of Edvard Munch, Yale University Press, 1996