Edvard Munch: The Woodcut & Printmaker

Edvard Munch - Ashes II (Aske II) - 1899 - Lithograph with watercolor additions - 13 15/16 x 18" (35.4 x 45.7 cm); sheet (irreg.): 16 1/4 x 19 1/2" (41.3 x 49.6 cm) - Kristiania (present day Oslo), Norway.

Perhaps his most direct formal influence on subsequent art can be seen in the area of the woodcut, the medieval form of which was actually revived as a tradition, later, by the Expressionists. But Munch was a pioneer in this area, which opened the flood gates on printmaking.

Printmaking was an essential component of Munch's art following his introduction to the graphic media in 1894. With the capacity to produce multiple works from a single plate, stone, or woodblock, printmaking served to expand the accessibility of the artist’s themes to the general public and to provide income. It also enabled him to experiment with his imagery: by altering color, line, texture, and composition, Munch drastically changed the appearance and emotional impact of a given subject. Thus a woman kissing a man could appear amorous in one print, predatory in another; a sick child could seem feverish in one impression, ashen in the next.