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This painting was originally titled "Love and Pain". A critic named Stanislaw Przybyszewski mistakenly interpreted this painting as being vampiric in theme and content. The painting became known as "Vampire" only after his erroneous assessment of it. The woman in the painting is consoling her lover or spouse, not sucking his blood. Incidentally, Munch's own father, Christian, was a violent-tempered, religious fanatic suffering from mental illness that passed through his family. Perhaps this portrays a moment concerning the aftermath of an episode of violence between Eduard's mother & father. It may represent yet another failure of Christian's pathetic attempts to force his control upon both his life and those around him. If so, the painting takes on new sorrow, as the woman is helpless to do anything in their situation except provide the man with momentary solace in the midst of his ongoing insanity. Her suffering is forever entwined in his own, so long as she remains with him.

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16y ago

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