Melancholy
1892 · Oil on canvas · National Museum of Norway, Oslo
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About this work
- Artist
- Edvard Munch (1863–1944)
- Year
- 1892
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Original size
- 64 × 96 cm
- Collection
- National Museum of Norway, Oslo
- Movement
- Symbolism
- Series
- The Frieze of Life
A young man sits hunched in the lower right corner, head resting on his hand, turned away from a jetty where three small figures and an orange boat wait at the end of a curving, boulder-strewn shore. The sky is streaked blue-grey and lilac above a dark wood and a white house. The figure is linked to Munch's friend Jappe Nilssen and his unhappy love affair, and the coast is Åsgårdstrand's. It hung in Munch's Berlin exhibition of autumn 1892, which the press attacked and which closed after a few days. It is in the National Museum of Norway.
This print reproduces the whole work, uncropped, from a high-resolution scan of the original. The original is in the public domain.
Where it works
Blue-grey, lilac and stone colours make a reflective seascape for a study, reading corner or bedroom with grey or blue walls. Pair it with Friedrich's Monk by the Sea at 36×24 in a black frame.
Style, size & framing detail
- Style
- Symbolism painting
- Era
- 19th century (1892)
- Orientation
- Landscape
- Mood
- dramatic, moody
- Rooms
- bedroom, study or library, living room, dining room
- Good gift for
- housewarming, art lovers
Size. We'd hang this one at 36×24. Prints at 18×12, 24×16, 36×24 in — 18×12 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 24×16 above a console or sideboard; 36×24 as the statement piece above a sofa or headboard.
Framing. The gallery ground is part of the print, so frame it without a mat — black suits the deep tones of this period; dark wood warms it.
Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).
Details & materials
Shipping & returns
Is this the whole painting, or a crop?
Is Melancholy in the public domain?
What is it printed on?
When was Melancholy painted, and in what medium?
What size works above a sofa or bed?
About this design
The Madten promise
An exhibition poster
The same artwork as a gallery exhibition poster — title, artist & date typeset beneath the image on a soft ground.
