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''Love and Pain'' is an 1895 painting by
A version of the painting was stolen from the Munch Museum on 23 February 1988. It was recovered later the same year, when the thief contacted the police.
In 2008, at a
File:Vampyr II by Edvard Munch (woodcut).png, ''Vampyr II'' (1895)
File:Edvard Munch - Vampire (1916-18).jpg, ''Vampire'' (1916-18)
File:Edvard Munch - Vampire (1917), Sammlung Würth.jpg, ''Vampire'' (1916-18)
''Love and Pain'' is an 1895 painting by Edvard Munch
Edvard Munch ( , ; 12 December 1863 – 23 January 1944) was a Norwegian painter. His best known work, ''The Scream'' (1893), has become one of Western art's most iconic images.
His childhood was overshadowed by illness, bereavement and the dr ...
; it has also been called ''Vampire'', though not by Munch. The painting depicts a man and woman embracing, with the woman appearing to be either kissing or biting the man on his neck. Munch painted six different versions of the same subject between 1893 and 1895. Three versions are in the collection of the Munch Museum in Oslo
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
, one is held by the Gothenburg Museum of Art
Gothenburg Museum of Art ( sv, Göteborgs konstmuseum) is located at Götaplatsen in Gothenburg, Sweden.
It claims to be the third largest art museum in Sweden by size of its collection.
Collections
The museum holds the world's finest collect ...
, one is owned by a private collector, and the final work is unaccounted for. Munch painted several additional versions and derivatives of the work later in his career.
Description
The painting shows a woman with long flame-red hair kissing a man on the neck, as the couple embrace. Although others have seen in it "a man locked in a vampire's tortured embrace – her molten-red hair running along his soft bare skin," Munch himself always claimed it showed nothing more than "just a woman kissing a man on the neck". The painting was first called ''Vampire'' by Munch's friend, the criticStanisław Przybyszewski
Stanisław Przybyszewski (; 7 May 1868 – 23 November 1927) was a Polish novelist, dramatist, and poet of the decadent naturalistic school. His drama is associated with the Symbolist movement. He wrote both in German and in Polish.
Life
StanisÅ ...
. Przybyszewski saw the painting on exhibition and described it as "a man who has become submissive, and on his neck a biting vampire's face."
Versions
A version of the painting was stolen from the Munch Museum on 23 February 1988. It was recovered later the same year, when the thief contacted the police.
In 2008, at a Sotheby's
Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, and ...
auction, an 1894 version of the painting sold for 38.2 million dollars (24.3 million pounds) and set the world record for the auction of a Munch painting.
In 1895, Munch created a woodcut
Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts. Areas that ...
with a very similar theme and composition, known as ''Vampyr II''.
In 1916–1918, Munch reused the composition in a different setting for two paintings called ''Vampire in the Forest'' and ''Vampire'', currently in the collection of the Munch Museum.See also
*List of paintings by Edvard Munch
This is a complete list of paintings by Edvard Munch (12 December 186323 January 1944) a Norwegian symbolist painter, printmaker and an important forerunner of expressionist art. His best-known composition, '' The Scream'' (1893), is part of a ...
References
External links
{{Authority control (arts) 1895 paintings Paintings by Edvard Munch Paintings in the collection of the Munch Museum Collections of the Gothenburg Museum of Art Stolen works of art Recovered works of art Paintings of people