''Melancholy'' (Norwegian: ''Melankoli''; also known as ''Jappe on the Beach'', ''Jealousy'' or ''Evening'') is a painting by the Norwegian artist

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 ...

. Munch painted multiple variant versions of the

expressionist Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

work in oil on

canvas Canvas is an extremely durable plain-woven fabric used for making sails, tents, marquees, backpacks, shelters, as a support for oil painting and for other items for which sturdiness is required, as well as in such fashion objects as handbags ...

during the period 1891–1893. The painting depicts a man with his head resting in his hand in a pensive mood at the edge of a shoreline. The inspiration for the painting was an unhappy romantic affair that Munch's friend,

Jappe Nilssen Jappe Jacob Nilssen (January 25, 1870 – 1931) was a Norwegians, Norwegian writer and art historian. Nilssen was born in Oslo. He published two novels and a number of novellas, but is mainly known for his many contributions as an art critic to ...

, was involved in. In Munch's painting the figure of the melancholy man is at the right, and his mood is represented by the undulating shoreline and skylines that extend toward the left. Critics suggest that there are also erotic allusions, perhaps in the presence of the Moon reflected on the water. The landscape represents Asgardstrand's beach where Munch spent his summers from 1889. ''Melancholy'' was exhibited in 1891 at the Autumn Exhibition in Oslo.Eggum, Arne (1984). ''Edvard Munch: Paintings, sketches, and studies''. Crown. p. 75. . The artist and journalist

Christian Krohg Christian Krohg (13 August 1852 – 16 October 1925) was a Norwegian naturalist painter, illustrator, author and journalist. Krohg was inspired by the realism art movement and often chose motifs from everyday life. He was the director and s ...

credited it as the first

Symbolist Symbolism was a late 19th-century art movement of French and Belgian origin in poetry and other arts seeking to represent absolute truths symbolically through language and metaphorical images, mainly as a reaction against naturalism and realis ...

painting by a Norwegian artist. Munch painted more than one version of the composition in 1891.Eggum, Arne (1984) ''Edvard Munch: Paintings, sketches, and studies''. Crown. pp. 74–75. . A version completed in 1892–93 is in the

National Gallery, Oslo The National Gallery ( no, Nasjonalgalleriet) is a gallery in Oslo, Norway. Since 2003 it is administratively a part of the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design. , the admission cost is 100 Norwegian kroner. History It was establishe ...

.Lombardi, Laura (2009). ''From Realism To Art Nouveau''. New York, NY: Sterling Pub.

Other versions

File:Edvard Munch - Evening. Melancholy (1891).jpg, ''Evening. Melancholy'', 1891.

Oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

pencil A pencil () is a writing or drawing implement with a solid pigment core in a protective casing that reduces the risk of core breakage, and keeps it from marking the user's hand. Pencils create marks by physical abrasion, leaving a trail ...

and

crayon A crayon (or wax pastel) is a stick of pigmented wax used for writing or drawing. Wax crayons differ from pastels, in which the pigment is mixed with a dry binder such as gum arabic, and from oil pastels, where the binder is a mixture of wax an ...

on canvas. 73 × 101 cm.

Munch Museum Munch Museum ( no, Munch-museet), marketed as Munch (stylised as MUNCH) since 2020, is an art museum in Bjørvika, Oslo, Norway dedicated to the life and works of the Norwegian artist Edvard Munch. The museum was originally located at Tøyen, ...

, Oslo File:Munch Melankoli 1892.jpg, ''Melancholy'', 1892. Oil on canvas. 64 x 96 cm.

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...

, Oslo File:Edvard Munch - Melancholy (1893).jpg, ''Melancholy'', 1893. Oil on canvas. 86 × 129 cm. Munch Museum, Oslo File:Edvard Munch - Melancholy (1894-96).jpg, ''Melancholy'', 1894–1896. Oil on canvas. 81 × 100.5 cm. Bergen Kunstmuseum, Bergen File:Edvard Munch - Evening. Melancholy I - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Evening. Melancholy I'', 1896.

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 ...

. 41.1 × 55.7 cm. Munch Museum, Oslo File:'Evening, Melancholy I' by Edvard Munch, woodcut, 1896.jpg, ''Evening. Melancholy I'', 1896. Woodcut. 37.2 × 45.2 cm

References

{{Edvard Munch Paintings by Edvard Munch 1891 paintings Paintings in the collection of the National Gallery (Norway) Ships in art