Expressionism & Expressionist Art: The Expressionist Works of Edvard Munch

Edvard Munch - Father of Expressionism

Artist: Edvard Munch

(1863-1944)

Style: Expressionism

Edvard Munch was a Norwegian born Expressionist / Expressionist painter who helped pioneer the artistic print making process. Munch was born December 12, 1863 in Adalsbruk, Norway and resided in Oslo for much of his early and later life. Munch's mother, Laura Cathrine Bjolstad passed away due to tuberculosis in 1868 and he then also lost his sister Johanne Sophie Munch to it in 1877. Edvard Munch's father, Christian Munch died at an early age as well in the year 1889. After Edvard's mother's death he was raised by his very strict and religious father who raised him under very strict and religious convictions. In addition to death, mental illness also plagued Munch's family. Both he and one of his sisters suffered with varying degrees of it. Munch was at one time quoted saying that "sickness, insanity and death were the angels that surrounded my cradle and they have followed me throughout my life." Many modern sources have described Munch's mental illness as severe depression and possible bipolar disorder. In 1880, Edvard Munch had left college to become a painter.

In 1881 Edvard Munch enrolled at the Royal School of Art and Design of Kristiania Norway. Munch's prominent teachers at the Royal School of Art and Design were Christian Krohg and Julius Middelthun. In 1885 Munch studied art in Paris and his work began began to resemble the work of the popular impressionists and postimpressionists of the time. Soon after Munch made the leap to the expressionist art style and today is often regarded as one of the fathers of the art form. In 1892 Munch's art went on display in Berlin where his paintings instigated controversy at the show and after just one week the his art exhibition closed. Between 1892 and 1905 Munch spent much of his time in both Germany and France where he became famous for his prints, etchings, and his woodcuts. During this time Munch became a very popular and well received artist in Germany. Munch died on January 23, 1944 in Norway. As a legacy he left behind over a thousand paintings and over twenty thousand prints and drawings to the city of Oslo which later built the Munch Museum to honor him.

Today Edvard Munch's paintings are highly celebrated and collected world round. Several of his works has made the news when they were stolen from the Munch museum in Norway. Here is a sellection of some of the profound Expressionist art works by the famous artist Edvard Munch.