Artwork
Evening, Melancholy I
Evening, Melancholy I is a print by the Impressionist artist Edvard Munch. It dates from 1896 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
About this work
You see a lone man with his back to us, sitting on a rocky shore at sunset.
You see a lone man with his back to us, sitting on a rocky shore at sunset. His head hangs low. The water behind him is black. The sky turns from pale yellow to deep orange.
Munch carved this image into wood instead of painting it. He rubbed ink on the wood block, then added watercolor and chalky gouache. Each print turned out a little different.
The grain of the wood shows through his marks. It makes the scene feel raw and uneven, like his mood.
Look up Edvard Munch (Norwegian, 1863–1944).
Overview
Evening, Melancholy I is a print by Edvard Munch, created using a woodcut technique with additional watercolor and gouache.
Subject & Meaning
The print depicts a solitary figure, identified as Munch's friend Jappe Nilssen, sitting on a rocky shoreline at sunset, conveying a sense of deep depression through the figure's posture and the somber atmosphere.
Technique & Style
Munch employed a woodcut technique, using heavily grained blocks to add texture, and varied the printing process to create unique impressions, combining black ink with watercolor and gouache.
Context
The scene is set in Åsgårdstrand, a fishing village south of Oslo, and reflects Munch's exploration of the emotional state of his subject through the use of simplified shapes, flattened space, and dark hues.
Artist & collection
Artist
Edvard Munch ( MUUNK; Norwegian: ; 12 December 1863 – 23 January 1944) was a Norwegian painter.
