The Heart (Hjertet)
1898 - 1899
Medium
woodcut in black, green, and red on Japan paper
Dimensions
image: 24.9 x 19.1 cm (9 13/16 x 7 1/2 in.) sheet: 40.4 x 33.9 cm (15 7/8 x 13 3/8 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
The Epstein Family Collection, given by their children, David, James, Richard, Miles and Sarah Carianne, in Honor of the 50th Anniversary of the National Gallery of Art
Accession Number
1991.32.1
Art Historical Context
Edvard Munch's *The Heart (Hjert)*, created between 1898 and 1899, captures the Norwegian artist's lifelong obsession with love, loss, and emotional turmoil. Best known for his iconic *The Scream*, Munch was a pioneer of Expressionism and Symbolism channeling personal anguish into bold, psychological imagery. This print reflects the Fin-de-Siècle mood in Europe, where artists grappled with modernity's anxieties amid rapid social change. Munch produced it during his time in Paris and Germany, a period when he shifted toward printmaking to reach wider audiences beyond paintings. Printed as a wo...
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...