The Vampire (Vampyr)
1895
Medium
lithograph with watercolor
Dimensions
image: 38 x 54.6 cm (14 15/16 x 21 1/2 in.) sheet: 45.3 x 58.9 cm (17 13/16 x 23 3/16 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1950.17.210
Art Historical Context
Edvard Munch's *The Vampire (Vamp)*, created in 1895, is a haunting lithograph enhanced with watercolor, measuring 38 x 54.6 cm. This print captures the Norwegian artist's fascination with themes of love, death, and existential dread, hallmarks of his Symbolist and proto-Expressionist style. Munch produced it during a prolific period in Berlin, amid personal turmoil including the death of his mother and sister, which infused his work with raw emotional intensity. The medium of lithography allowed Munch to experiment with mass production while retaining hand-applied watercolor for vivid, atmos...
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...