Tormented Facts About Edvard Munch, The Man Behind The Scream
The “tormented artist” figure has become a stereotype…but there was nothing typical about the dark, deranged, and fascinating life of Edvard Munch. The man who created the iconic and chilling The Scream certainly had demons at his door—more than you could ever know. Until now, that is.
1. He Suffered From A Young Age
Edvard Munch’s childhood was right out of the “tormented soul” textbook. Born in a farmhouse in rural Norway in 1863, Edvard’s father Christian was a priest, while his mother was something of an artist. But tragedy struck hard and quick. When Edvard was just five years old, his still-young mother passed from tuberculosis. Yet it got worse.
2. He Watched His Sister Pass
As if witnessing his mother's gradual deterioration wasn't heart-wrenching enough, Munch was further struck by misfortune when his beloved sister, Sophie, succumbed to the same illness that took their mother at the tender age of 15.
During her last days, Sophie begged to get out of bed and sit in a chair—a chair that Munch kept and treasured until the end of his life.
Little did Edvard know it at the time, but this was all just the start of a dark path.
3. His Family Was Dysfunctional
Losing a mother at such a young age is unbelievably painful, and Edvard’s father didn’t help matters. Always prone to morbid habits—he liked to read ghoulish Edgard Allan Poe stories to his tots—the devout patriarch would often keep his children in line by saying that when they misbehaved, their mother was watching from heaven and grieving.
Soon enough, this gruesome behavior got much worse.
4. His Father Was A Maniac
As Edvard grew up, he made a disturbing realization. His father’s religious obsession approached a kind of mania, and Edvard believed that “From him I inherited the seeds of madness”. Indeed, his whole family seemed cursed. Edvard's sister Laura was afflicted with mental illness herself, and only one of his siblings, Andreas, proceeded to marry—only to pass away just months following the ceremony.
It all began to have a frightening effect on Edvard.
