Såmannen 1913

Edvard Munch, best known for "The Scream," painted "Såmannen" – "The Sower" – with oil on canvas, and in it you can see him figuring out something different. It's not a scream, but an earthy kind of toil. Look at those purple lines making up the furrows – each a deliberate stroke, laid down with a kind of rhythm and repetition, almost meditative. I imagine Munch, out there in the field, thinking about the seasons, the land, and this age-old act of sowing. It's not just about agriculture; it's about hope, right? About investing in a future you might not even see. The colors are muted, blending into each other. The browns and greens suggest the soil, the blues give a sense of the sky and the laboring man is part of this cyclical vision. What could he be sowing, I wonder? And what will come of it? Painting, like sowing, requires a leap of faith. The image feels very connected to painters like Van Gogh. Artists keep the cycle of inspiration in motion, and we see the yields of their labor.