Edvard Munch

Hello! My name is Edvard Munch. I was born in a snowy country called Norway on December 12th, 1863. Even when I was a little boy, I loved to draw. I drew everything I saw. My family was very important to me, but sometimes sad things happened that made me feel big feelings. I decided I wanted to put all those feelings—the happy ones and the sad ones—into my art.

When I grew up, I went to a special art school in a city called Kristiania, which is now named Oslo. Later, around 1889, I traveled to Paris, a city buzzing with artists. I saw paintings full of bright colors and new ideas. It made me realize I didn't want to paint things to look exactly like a photograph. I wanted to paint what things felt like inside. I used wavy lines and strong, bold colors to show emotions like love, worry, and wonder.

One of my most famous paintings came from a memory. In 1893, I was walking along a path as the sun was setting. The sky turned a fiery red, and I felt a huge, silent scream pass through nature. I knew I had to paint that feeling. I painted a person with their hands on their head and a wide-open mouth, with swirling colors all around. I called it 'The Scream,' and it became my most famous picture.

I kept painting for my whole life, showing the world through my eyes and my feelings. I lived to be 80 years old. Today, my style of art is called Expressionism, because it's all about expressing emotions. You can see many of my paintings in a special museum in Norway. I hope my art helps you think about your own feelings, because they are what make life so colorful.