The Dead Lovers 1991

Edvard Munch made this etching, called The Dead Lovers, with ink and a metal plate. Look at the density of those etched lines, and the way they create shadows. It's like he’s digging into something, trying to scrape away at the surface to reveal what's underneath. You can almost hear the scratch of the tool on the metal. I’m drawn to the way Munch uses these lines to build up the figures, like little tangled threads of emotion. See the heavy, dark lines outlining the bodies, and compare them to the more delicate marks defining the bedclothes. It makes you wonder about the weight and texture of what's real versus what's imagined. Looking at this work, I can’t help but think of Paula Modersohn-Becker. She, like Munch, wasn't afraid to confront the darker sides of love and intimacy in her own prints. Both artists show us that art isn't just about beauty. It’s about wrestling with our inner selves, in all their messy, contradictory glory.