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In the autumn of 1908, Edvard Munch (1863-1944) admitted himself to a private psychiatric clinic in Copenhagen, Denmark. His mental breakdown was the culmination of his negative treatment by the Norwegian press, feelings of guilt about his relationship with his family, the turbulence of his emotional life, his sense of betrayal by his friends, and chronic insomnia.¹ He felt persecuted and had increasingly abused alcohol, waking with numbness in his hands and feet and writing to a friend that he drank like a man possessed. His involvement in brawls and fights had been in the newspapers. In Hamburg, Germany, he had assaulted several strangers in a hotel.

Edvard Munch (1863-1944), Norwegian. The Sun, 1912-1916. Oil on canvas; 16 ft, 11 in x 25 ft, 7 in (455 x 780 cm). Aula (Assembly Hall), Oslo University, Oslo, Norway. Courtesy of the Munch Museum, Oslo/Bridgeman Art Library. Copyright Artists Rights Society, New . . . [Full Text of this Article]

James C. Harris, MD

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