In this artwork, how is the Genesis discussed?
Whenever he was questioned on the subject, Munch maintained he had not been influenced by the work of the Belgium artist and illustrator Félicien Rops,: 195 p.  specifically the etching Le Plus Bel Amour De Don Juan [Don Juan's Greatest Love], published as an illustration in the second edition of Jules Amédée Barbey d’Aurevilly's book Les Diaboliques in 1882 (based on an earlier 1879 pencil drawing).: 5 p. ) However, art critics and historians have consistently noted the similarities; beginning with Przybyszewski (1894) the first publication ever devoted to Munch.: 35 p.   Munch claimed the ca. 1894-95 painting was a copy of an earlier painting he first made in 1885 or 1886: 78 p.  and "that this earlier version had been lost in a studio fire".: 195 p.  In the late 1880s and into the mid-1890s, Munch, in his mid-twenties, had begun to create his series of Puberty pieces. At this time Munch had already established himself as a notable artist in Berlin. During this period of his life Munch often found residence in Berlin, where his newfound fame and circle of friends were. His new group of friends are attributed for helping push Munch further into his sexually depressed state of mind.  Munch allowed this sexual depression to seep into Puberty and like other works he created later this piece was created with symbolism reflecting feelings which continued growing increasingly within the next ten years. This state of sexual depression is one that not only his circle of friends shared with him, but that the psychological scholars had also been curious about having just written the first research on the stages and occurrences of puberty in young adults.
Jules Amédée Barbey d’Aurevilly symbolism Félicien Rops Berlin symbol Les Diaboliques Puberty puberty etching painting sexual depression Jules Amédée Barbey d’Aurevilly's Rops