Jealousy 1914

This is Edvard Munch’s “Jealousy,” and it's an etching, meaning it was made by using acid to cut into a metal plate. I look at the plate and I think about Munch and the marks he made on the metal, the lines he scratched out, full of pent-up emotion, or maybe he was super calm. Who knows? I think about him, trying to get the expression just right on that dude’s face in the foreground. The eyes are bulging, intense, and slightly unhinged. You can feel the heat of his gaze! I can imagine Munch in his studio, scraping away at the plate, trying to capture this primal feeling. The marks are rough, raw, and they create this atmosphere of unease. And the woman in the background, with her hands behind her head, she seems almost oblivious to the drama unfolding in front of her. I’m sure Munch was looking at his own life, but the feeling is so universal, like we’ve all been there, right? I love how artists can tap into these deep, messy emotions. It’s an ongoing conversation between artists, this sharing of our experiences, and it's what makes art so powerful.