Omega and the Flower 1908 - 1909

Edvard Munch made this drawing, Omega and the Flower, using pencil and crayon on paper. I can imagine Munch tentatively sketching this figure, a woman kneeling, her face obscured by her hands and a small flower, or branch. I wonder if this drawing was hard to make. I can imagine him feeling anxious and trying to capture a sense of fragility. The lines are raw and tentative. Her face is hidden, and her body is simplified to just a few strokes that suggest form. The feeling is melancholic, withdrawn. Is she protecting herself, or the flower? Munch was always playing with themes of love, anxiety, and death, and I see this drawing as part of that ongoing conversation. It reminds me of other artists like Paula Modersohn-Becker, who were similarly grappling with ideas about female identity through the lens of personal experience. Artists are always in dialogue, riffing off each other’s ideas, and pushing the boundaries of expression. What stays with me is the sense of vulnerability, and the flower, or branch, as a symbol of hope, or something else entirely?