Munch - Self Portrait after Spanish Flu

In this portrait, we see Edvard Munch through his own eyes.  He has survived the outbreak of Spanish Influenza, but he looks clearly ravaged by the illness.  He once said: 

Illness, insanity, and death ... kept watch over my cradle and accompanied me all my life.

Personal illness, as reflected in this painting, has nearly deprived him of his life.  Munch went on, however, to live twenty-five more years.

Credits

This self-portrait, which Munch painted between 1919-20, is now owned by the Munch Museum in Oslo, Norway.