The artwork “Worker and Child” was created by the Norwegian artist Edvard Munch in 1908. This oil on canvas painting belongs to the Expressionism movement and is a genre painting with dimensions of 76 x 90 cm. Presently, it is housed at the Munch Museum in Oslo, Norway. The artwork is distinctive for its expressive brushwork and the emotional resonance that is characteristic of Munch’s work, exploring themes of human existence and emotional states.
In “Worker and Child,” Munch portrays the figures in a manner that emphasizes their inner emotional experience rather than realistic detail. The dominant figure appears to be a worker, dressed in dark, nondescript clothing, holding onto a child. The child holds what seems to be a loaf of bread, suggesting themes of care and provision. The background of the artwork features a loosely painted setting with a group of workers in the background, contributing to the sense of everyday life and the struggles within it. What stands out is Munch’s use of vivid, emotional color and sweeping, gestural brushstrokes that give the scene a sense of movement and urgency, characteristic of his style and the Expressionist movement.
