Death and Discord

Death in the Sickroom

Context

In this image Edward Munch also touches on the subject of death, using specific poses for his figures to add symbolism and meaning. As mentioned before, ‘death is the event of departure from life’ and this image shows the process of grieving at the end of a life.

Actual Meaning

Edward Munch was born in 1863 and at the age of 5 he lost his mother to Tuberculosis and his care was taken over by his older sister Karen. By 1877 his other sister, Sophie, died from the same illness. Many people believe that a lot of his later works (including the one above) express the feelings he had about the illness and death that occurred in his close family. The composition gives the audience I good perception of Munch’s emotions at the time and how these experiences affected him for the rest of his life.


"Disease and insanity were the black angels on guard at my cradle. In my childhood, I felt I was treated in an unjust way, without a mother, sick, and with threatened punishment in hell hanging over my head."

- Edward Munch

What the piece means to me

To me this piece by Munch is a well informed and considered painting using position and colour to enhance the meaning behind it. The green of the walls is reflected on the faces of some of the figures in the room, I feel this could be to try and symbolize how the death of one person can affect many of the people’s lives. Also I feel the colours could be used to show that the sadness and loss that takes place when a person dies can spread like a disease. The figures in composition look as thought they have been painted in poses as thought in a role on a theatre stage. During the 1890’s it was said that Munch favored a shallow pictorial space with a minimal backdrop for his frontal figures and this can be seen in ‘death in the sickroom’. I believe poses/positions are significant in Edward Munch’s work and that each one is chosen carefully to produce a more convincing image and state of mind. Overall I believe that the characters portrayed in the image were designed to appear more symbolic than realistic.

Materials used and how they compliment the meaning

This painting was created using oil on canvas which helped to create the bold shades of green and the soft brush textures.

Overall Judgement

Overall I feel that Edward Munch has created a very strong image because of the thought behind each small part of the composition. He has considered every detail and how it could affect the meaning behind the painting, tying in his own emotions and experiences to create a beautiful and poignant image that a lot of people can relate to.

My Response

This is my Response to the image by Edward Munch as seen above. I commented earlier on the use of colour and how it can add symbolism meaning to a composition and wanted this aspect to influence my own work. I used shades of blue to portray loneliness and depression, I used it on the face to make the message of personal. I incorporated the colour green which is usually associated with sickness of disease, this was in response to Munch's work were he used it to show the sadness and loss that spreads like a disease when a person dies. I used acrylic paint to create textured brush work and pencil to define certain features.

Les Amants by Rene Magritte

Context

Opposite is a painting by the surrealist artist Rene Magritte, it is titled 'Les Amants' or when translated into English 'The Lovers'. In 1912 the artist's mother committed suicide and this was a great loss that effected many of his later works.

Actual Meaning and what the piece means to me

Magritte began drawing lesson in 1910 and two years later in 1912, his mother committed suicide by drowning herself in the River Sambre as mentioned above. He was present when her body was dragged from the water and this image of his mother floating naked with her dress obscuring her face may be seen to influence a series or paintings where this scene is reconstructed using people with cloth obscuring their faces. The painting 'Les Amants' is seen to be one of the images from this series.



I would agree that the tragedy of his mothers death has inspired him to do symbolic paintings depicting this major event in his life but in the surrealist style he is so famous for.

My Response