Madness and Melancholy in the Art of Edvard Munch

SEASONS OF GRACE
By Kathy Schiffer

"Golgotha" by Edvard Munch (c. 1900). Munch Museum, Oslo.

You’ve seen “The Scream” before. The 1892 painting, or one of its contemporary reinterpretations, shows up in art history texts but also on greeting cards, in social media, on t-shirts…. It’s a cultural phenomenon. His twisted temperament is apparent, too, in his religious art. This painting titled “Golgotha”, for example, is devoid of love and devotion; there is no grieving mother at the foot of the Cross. Instead, one sees guilt and fear and depression among the crowd gathered on Calvary. Art critics believe that it is a self-portrait—that Munch has actually painted himself in the person of Christ on the Cross. [link]