13. Edvard Munch suffered from acute agoraphobia, and his fear of outdoor spaces and crowds was reflected in his art
“My afflictions belong to me and my art-‑they have become one with me. Without illness and anxiety, I would have been a rudderless ship.” So said Edvard Munch of the complex relationship between his mental health and his famous art. The Norwegian suffered from a number of phobias and neuroses, many of which he drew on for his work. Above all, it’s believed that Munch suffered from agoraphobia, the fear of open spaces, and this affected both his personal and his professional life.
According to some Munch scholars, the artist’s fear of wide, open spaces may have been rooted in childhood trauma. Young Edvard was just five years old when his mother died of tuberculosis. Then, just a few years later, his sister died from the same disease. This may have been the reason he was so afraid to venture outside on his own. After a spell in hospital as a young man, Munch spent the last 35 years of his life in near-complete solitude, staying at home and concentrating on his art. He never even spoke to the housekeepers who came to clean and cook. Unsurprisingly, none of them stayed for long, leaving the artist alone with his canvas and paints.
It’s often theorized that Munch’s most iconic work, The Scream, was his way of expressing what he was feeling. More specifically, many believe that the masterpiece is a representation of what it’s like to suffer from crippling agoraphobia. Or, it may well be just a reaction to a tough life consumed by various conditions and neuroses. After all, as well as his fear of outside spaces, Munch also suffered bouts of serious alcoholism, plus he was most likely schizophrenic too.