In Self-Portrait with Cigarette, how is the History discussed?
The painting was exhibited at Blomqvist's in Oslo during the autumn of 1895, along with Munch's other works including the 1893 version of The Scream, the 1894–1895 version of Madonna, and Vampire.: 627  The self-portrait was originally intended to be exhibited as "twin wedding portraits" with Munch's portrait of his supposed lover Dagny Juel. However, Juel's father asked Munch to take down his daughter's portrait before the exhibition, which Munch did. Self-Portrait with Cigarette was purchased that year by the National Gallery, now part of the National Museum of Norway.: 147, 157 The self-portrait's exhibition led to controversy surrounding Munch's mental health. Johan Scharffenberg, then a medical student, suggested the painting to be a manifestation of Munch's amorality and mental degeneration; Scharffenberg diagnosed the artist as a sick and corrupting influence on Norwegian youth.: 629  Berman identifies this and other criticism of the painting's potential danger towards society to be motivated by influential thinkers such as Max Nordau.: 6 From 1908 to 1909, Munch produced a lithograph also titled Self-Portrait with Cigarette.: 29  He also made a photographic reproduction of the painting some time between 1907 and 1909.: 256 From February to May 2006, the self-portrait and 86 other paintings by Munch were featured at the Museum of Modern Art in New York for the first 21st-century retrospective of Munch's career, titled Edvard Munch: The Modern Life of the Soul.
Madonna The Scream Edvard Munch Max Nordau Vampire Johan Scharffenberg Dagny Juel Oslo Museum of Modern Art National Museum National Gallery