Melancholy (Munch)

Melancholy (Norwegian: Melankoli; also known as Jappe on the Beach, Jealousy or Evening) is a motif by the Norwegian painter Edvard Munch, which he executed in five paintings between 1891 and 1896 and two woodcuts between 1896 and 1902. It shows a man sitting on the beach with his head propped up in the foreground, while in the background a couple is on their way to a boat trip. The colors support the melancholic mood of the scene. In this motif, Munch processed the unhappy love affair of his friend Jappe Nilssen with the married Oda Krohg, which mirrored his own past relationship with a married woman. The melancholic figure in the foreground is therefore associated with both Munch's friend and the painter himself. Melancholy is considered one of the Norwegian painter's first symbolist paintings and is part of his Frieze of Life.