Two Human Beings, The Lonely Ones

Edvard Munch is one of the rare artists whose mere name conjure up an entire view of reality. Who has not seen his most famous painting, The Scream?

It is one of the immortal classics of artwork, and even a person completely unfamiliar with the Munch and his life will recognise it at a single glance. But The Scream was not Edvard Munch's only masterpiece: far from it. Munch's artwork stemmed from his unique life. After a sickly childhood dominated by his religious fmaily's fear of hell, Munch was encouraged by his mentor Hans Jaeger to try and capture his own soul in painting. This is a pursuit that came to dominate his life as an artist, as Munch spilled his fears, doubts and anxieties onto the canvas. His paintings vary in technique, with a number being comparativel naturalistic, but it is for the expressionistic distortion in works like The Scream for which he is best remembered.

Edvard Munch's 1899 painting Two People: The Lonely Ones is, like The Scream, an example of Munch at his most overtly expressionistic. It depicts two figures standing on a black and white ground as they look out at a blue body before them; it could be the sky, it could be sea lapping at the shore, but the exact physicality of the landscape is less important than the emotions it evokes. The black ground below is scratched with specks, swirls and gashes of white, possibly indicating light falling on rocks yet also carrying the suggestion of bones and skeletons. The two figures are in stark contrast to one another. The male is dressed entirely in black, while the female wears a white dress, illuminated on the one side with blue an on the other with yellow, her red hair flowing down the back (note that these are, aside the blue background, the only colours used in the painting).

They appear to be standing still, gazing out into the blue void, just as the painting's observer gazes onto them. Two People: The Lonely Ones by Edvard Munch is an enigmatic piece of art, one that retains is striking appeal more than a century after it was created. If you are looking for an eye-catching and attention-grabbing artistic print to put on display in your home, then this painting by Munch will make the perfect choice. It will retain its lingering fascination as residents and visitors at your home each examine it and interpret its haunting imagery through their own emotional states. Make no mistake: this is a print that will serve as a conversation piece for years to come.