Munch, Edvard (1863-1944)
Self-Portrait (Selvportrett)
1895
Lithograph, 458 × 314 mm
Munch Museum, Oslo
In the period before Munch makes this self-portrait, some of his most famous motifs are created, including The Scream, Vampire, Puberty and Madonna. He takes up printmaking, which gives him great freedom to experiment, but also allows him to reproduce his artworks in greater quantities. In particular, his Madonna lithograph was a bestseller and exists in several hundred printed impressions. This was about far more than profit. Munch made changes to his printing plates while printing, so that his motifs also evolved during the process. In this way, printmaking became another source of his artistic development. This was also the case with this self-portrait from 1895, which exists in several versions, with and without the skeleton arm.
His head is floating surrounded by a pitch black background. His neck resembles a priest’s collar, his name and date in the margin gives associations to a tombstone. Does the image symbolize death? Four out the letters are inverted. Was it a mistake? Did he find it an interesting mistake, that added something to the picture? (Munchmuseet)