Nude 1 by Edvard Munch

A true pictorial cry from the most radical expressionist current, this work deals without concession with absolute despair and carnal suffering. The painter breaks the conventions of the academic representation of the nude to expose raw emotion under the visionary gaze of the famous creator Edvard Munch. This striking creation, baptized with the name of “Nude 1”, directly confronts the viewer with a total and disarming human distress.

A naked female figure is slumped on a large bed or sofa of a violent and tormented blood red. Her long, messy dark hair falls entirely forward, completely masking her face which she hides between her hands in a crying fit. Her pale legs with greenish and flesh tones stretch asymmetrical across the red cloth, accentuating the tension of her posture. On the right, a large pillow or sheet of a deep night blue brings a brutal chromatic contrast with the rest of the furniture. The back of the room fades into streaks of purple and pink paint.

The artisan demonstrates exceptional traditional know-how through a fragmented, nervous touch saturated with colored matter. His bold technique allows him to give physical materiality to psychological pain, confirming his immense talent for poetizing and magnifying tragedy with the help of oil.