Twee zwevende figuren 1898 - 1899

Edvard Munch created this woodcut, "Two Floating Figures," in 1905, a time when he was deeply engaged with themes of love, anxiety, and human connection. Munch was part of a generation grappling with rapid societal changes and shifting understandings of identity, particularly around sexuality and mental health. In this work, we see two figures rendered in stark contrast against a dark background. The red figure seems to strain towards the ghostly white one above, evoking a sense of yearning and unattainable connection. Munch, who struggled with mental illness throughout his life, often explored raw emotional states in his art. Here, the figures seem suspended, caught between worlds, perhaps reflecting a sense of alienation or the search for wholeness. Is it a couple? Or two aspects of the same person? "From my rotting body, flowers shall grow and I am in them and that is eternity," Munch once said, suggesting his deep investment in the emotional and psychological experience of being. The print resonates with anyone who has felt the push and pull of human relationships, the longing for intimacy, and the struggle to find oneself in the midst of it all.