Anxiety, 1894
Oil on canvas
94 x 73 cm

Related Works

Anxiety (lithograph)
Anxiety (woodcut)
The Scream
Evening on Karl Johan

Your Comments

Emily wrote on Oct 18, 2006:

I’m doing an Art assignment on the Role of an Artist and I am using Munch as a point of proof. I agree with Brian in some ways about "Anxiety" but also disagree with the idea of peer pressure being the main feeling portrayed in this work. I feel that it is actually his anxiety due to his agriphobia and he may possibly have also suffered from the fear of people. (I can’t remember what they call it... :s) they all have blank expressions as he sees them as not caring. When he would have an anxiety attack on this particular bridge no body would help. They would just keep on walking past him. So it is also possible that rather than fearing people he grew to hate them for not being concerned for others around them.

Brian wrote on Jan 9, 2002:
Peer Pressure
I feel that this painting is about Munch's life. He is so different, yet he doesn't want to express it and he goes on that bridge that his anxiety scenes take place. He's trying to show us that the bridge of troublesome thoughts can come from peer pressure... Everyone's expressions are blank. But they don't care, they just keep on walking. (Please e-mail me if you disagree or want to comment.)

Kevin Watt wrote on Mar 10, 2001:

The scene is of a crowd walking toward a destination. They are so packed on the common bridge of "The Scream" and "Despair" that they cannot turn around and walk away. The destination is the audience of the painting. The characters are looking to the viewer. "What do they want? What are they looking at? They looking at me," hence anxiety.

Jason Michael wrote on Mar 26, 2001:

How fitting for this collection of people to be crossing a bridge in a group. Is the anxiety from not being able to move in any direction but forward? Or does it come from the knowledge that they must move forward to cross the bridge. Much like life. Nowhere for them to go but forward and not other choice but to press forward. For them they have but no choice to confront what waits for them at the end of the bridge. Death?

Write a comment

Credits

Picture: Edvard Munch: The Frieze of Life.