THE STORM-1893 Munch painted The Storm in Aasgaardstrand, a small Norwegian seaside resort. The painting may have been inspired by a violent storm that occurred there that summer, but it also conjures a sense of psychic distress. In fact the force of the wind is suggested by the bending of the central tree and continued in the cloud striations above it. Standing near the water, on a blue Scandinavian summer night, there is a young woman in white. Also the wisps of her hair blown up from her head. There are other women, standing apart from her, and all of them cover their ears with their hands, as if to shut out the whistle of the wind and the wail of the sea. The windows of the house are bright, yellow, and they give to the building an almost human presence while suggesting a vibrant world from which the women are excluded. The softened contours and highly atmospheric treatment give the scene a spectral quality, with the women emerging like phantoms. In consequence it is easy to conceive that nature's turbulence is intended to reflect an inner turbulence of the mind. In this picture Munch combines several different themes he used in other pictures of the 1890s. Firstly, the hands placed over the ears, as in The Scream, probably expresses some sort of fear. Secondly, the lonely individual, the woman in white, separates herself from the crowd. Thirdly, this woman walks down the pathway through the rocks towards the sea, not shown but to be reached very soon. Dressed in white, this woman is clearly virginal, and despite the storm, she must be facing the moon, otherwise her dress could not shine with such brilliance. Fourthly, there is the background building which the women have apparently left, with the tree bisecting it like a nose between quadruple eyes. In some of Munch's paintings such buildings are obviously sources of fear and that may be the meaning intended here. In Munch's mind man's life was part of, and wholly determined by, the general evolution of nature, and sexual intercourse associated with fear of the inevitable cycle of life and death.
THE STORM-1893 Munch paintedThe Stormin Aasgaardstrand, a small
Norwegian seaside resort. The painting may have been inspired by a
violent storm that occurred there that summer, but it also conjures
a sense of psychic distress. In fact the force of the wind is
suggested by the bending of the central tree and continued in the
cloud striations above it. Standing near the water, on a blue
Scandinavian summer night, there is a young woman in white. Also
the wisps of her hair blown up from her head. There are other
women, standing apart from her, and all of them cover their ears
with their hands, as if to shut out the whistle of the wind and the
wail of the sea. The windows of the house are bright, yellow, and
they give to the building an almost human presence while suggesting
a vibrant world from which the women are excluded. The softened
contours and highly atmospheric treatment give the scene a spectral
quality, with the women emerging like phantoms. In consequence it
is easy to conceive that nature's turbulence is intended to reflect
an inner turbulence of the mind.In this picture Munch combines
several different themes he used in other pictures of the 1890s.
Firstly, the hands placed over the ears, as inThe Scream, probably
expresses some sort of fear. Secondly, the lonely individual, the
woman in white, separates herself from the crowd. Thirdly, this
woman walks down the pathway through the rocks towards the sea, not
shown but to be reached very soon.Dressed in white, this woman is
clearly virginal, and despite the storm, she must be facing the
moon, otherwise her dress could not shine with such brilliance.
Fourthly, there is the background building which the women have
apparently left, with the tree bisecting it like a nose between
quadruple eyes. In some of Munch's paintings such buildings are
obviously sources of fear and that may be the meaning intended
here. In Munch's mind man's life was part of, and wholly determined
by, the general evolution of nature, and sexual intercourse
associated with fear of the inevitable cycle of life and death.
