Untitled 12 

Edvard Munch created this untitled drawing with colored crayon in an unknown year. The face, a vessel, a landscape – all emerge from a sea of blue. Note how the face looms large, encapsulating smaller figures and scenery within its contours. This recalls the ancient motif of the *imago clipeata*, a portrait held within a circular shield, symbolizing protection and veneration. Yet here, the face is not a shield, but a permeable membrane, blurring the boundaries between inner experience and external reality. The gaze, piercing yet unfocused, evokes a state of profound introspection. We are reminded of the masks of antiquity, where the face becomes a stage for the drama of the soul. Much like the figures painted on Greek vases, Munch's subjects reveal the silent language of human emotion, echoing across centuries. The subconscious, a vast ocean of collective memory, surfaces in these recurring forms, binding us to the past.