The Kiss IV

In this woodcut as in Munch's paintings presenting the same subject, the kissing pair are clothed, unlike the etching with a corresponding motif. In this version, abstraction has been taken to its extreme, and the man and the woman stand up together as a dark silhouette against the background formed only by the pattern in the wood. I have chosen this piece for today because at first, I thought it was street art graffiti, similar to the those that Banksy could have created. It looks so modern. Munch was pre-occupied with this motif and painted a number of variations with different positionings of the couple. The important feature of the motif is the couple’s abstract conjoined form and the faces that shade into each other. This is Munch’s way of underlining that the couple are as one, and the picture is a beautiful expression of belongingness and togetherness between man and woman.

Tomorrow in DailyArt you will learn about a sculpture presenting the same motif, created 20 years before Munch's woodcut but having a similar spirit. See you tomorrow!