Edvard Munch

12 December 1863 – 23 January 1944

Edvard Munch (1863-1944) was a Norwegian painter and printmaker whose intensely psychological treatment of anxiety, love, and death made him a central figure in Expressionism. His 1893 painting The Scream is one of the most recognizable images in art history.

Comparing
Compare

Lived at the same time

Well-documented people whose lives overlapped with Edvard Munch.

Life events

Born in Ådalsbruk, Løten, Norway
12 December 1863

Edvard Munch was born to military doctor Christian Munch and Laura Catherine Bjølstad; the family moved to Christiania (Oslo) the following year.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Birth ✓
Death of his mother from tuberculosis
1868

Munch's mother died of tuberculosis when he was five, the first of several family losses that deeply marked his art.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Personal ✓
Enrolled at the Royal School of Art and Design in Christiania
1881

Munch abandoned engineering studies and entered the Royal School of Art and Design to train as a painter.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Education ✓
Exhibited The Sick Child
1886

Munch showed The Sick Child, inspired by his sister Sophie's death from tuberculosis, provoking harsh criticism for its unfinished, expressive style.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Achievement ✓
Berlin exhibition scandal
November 1892

Munch's solo exhibition at the Union of Berlin Artists closed after a week amid controversy, making him famous in Germany and drawing him into Berlin's avant-garde circles.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Career ✓
Painted The Scream
1893

Munch created the first painted version of The Scream, part of his Frieze of Life series exploring love, anxiety, and death.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Achievement ✓
Nervous breakdown and treatment in Copenhagen
1908 – 1909

After years of heavy drinking and anxiety, Munch suffered a breakdown and spent months in Dr. Daniel Jacobson's clinic in Copenhagen.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Personal ✓
Completed the Aula murals for the University of Oslo
1916

Munch finished his monumental mural decorations, including The Sun, for the assembly hall of the University of Oslo.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Achievement ✓
Settled at Ekely estate outside Oslo
1916

Munch purchased the Ekely estate at Skøyen, where he lived and painted in relative seclusion for the rest of his life.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Relocation ✓
Died at Ekely, near Oslo
23 January 1944

Munch died at his Ekely estate a month after his 80th birthday, bequeathing his remaining works to the city of Oslo.

Source: en.wikipedia.org
Death ✓