Self-Portrait

The Self-Portrait by Edvard Munch (Norwegian, 1863-1944) is a seminal work created in 1895, classifying it as a cornerstone print from the artist’s most emotionally intense period. This piece is an early and powerful example of the artist's deep engagement with graphic media to explore psychological states. It was executed as a lithograph, rendering the image in rich black ink upon delicate ivory Japanese paper. The specific printing was possibly overseen by Nielsen Lassally, indicating Munch’s early engagement with specialized commercial printmakers to disseminate his art.

This self-image belongs to a critical phase in Munch’s career when he was developing the themes central to his famed Frieze of Life. Though the details of his face are partially obscured by shadow and the stark blackness inherent in the lithograph medium, the viewer perceives the characteristic emotional intensity found throughout his oeuvre. The composition powerfully emphasizes the inner turmoil and existential depth that defined Symbolist and proto-Expressionist art emerging from late 19th-century Norway. Munch embraced printmaking not only as an art form but as a highly effective means of disseminating his powerful, often disturbing imagery.

The stark, almost spectral quality of this self-image reveals Munch’s growing mastery of graphic prints during the mid-1890s. The artist found the stark contrast and linear precision of the lithograph well-suited to his dramatic compositions. This historically significant work, which helps define the modern history of self-portraiture, is currently held in the esteemed collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. As this important work ages, high-quality documentation of the print is becoming increasingly available to the public domain.