August Strindberg

Art Historical Context

Edvard Munch’s 1896 lithograph portrays the Swedish playwright and novelist August Strindberg with the psychological intensity that defines the Norwegian artist’s work. Created during Munch’s productive years in Paris, the print captures Strindberg’s penetrating gaze and tousled hair through bold, sinuous lines that seem to vibrate with inner tension. Munch, a central figure in the Symbolist and emerging Expressionist movements, often used portraiture to explore the emotional undercurrents of his contemporaries. As a lithograph on cream wove paper, the work highlights Munch’s innovative approach to printmaking. The medium allowed him to achieve rich contrasts and fluid, almost painterly effects while making his imagery more widely accessible. This portrait reflects the vibrant cultural exchanges of the 1890s, when writers, artists, and thinkers like Strindberg and Munch gathered in European capitals to challenge traditional forms of expression. Visitors to the Art Institute of Chicago can appreciate how Munch transforms a simple likeness into a study of creative temperament, distilling the restless spirit of an era through graphic means.

About the Artist

Edvard Munch · 1863–1944

Edvard Munch (1863-1944) was a Norwegian painter and printmaker whose intensely psychological works made him a pioneer of Expressionism and one of the most influential artists of the modern era. His 1893 masterpiece 'The Scream' has become an iconic symbol of existential anxiety. Munch's art was profoundly shaped by personal tragedy—his mother died when he was five, his beloved sister Sophie at fo...