노르웨이의 대표적인 화가인 에드바르드 뭉크(Edvard Munch)는 표현주의 예술의 선구자로 꼽힌다. 본 연구는 뭉크의 작품에 나타난 여성이미지를 통해서 화가가 평생 동안 시달렸던 존재론적 불안과 두려움의 근원을 밝히고, 그와 연관된 화가의 내면의식과 심리적 변화과정을 살펴보았다. 이를 위해 작품에 재현된 여성이미지를 세 유형으로 나누고, 각 유형이 지니는 시대적, 예술사적 의미와 더불어 화가 개인의 생애사적 체험에 기초한 주관적 의미를 분석하였다. 뭉크는 세 유형의 여성이미지를 통해서 사랑은 생의 불안을 낳는 가장 큰 요인이며, 사랑이 도달하는 곳은 결국 죽음이라는 사실을 강조하고 있다. 작품에 반영된 사랑과 삶, 여성에 대한 화가의 부정적인 정서는 어린 시절 부모와의 ‘불안전 애착관계’에 기인한 것이다. 즉, 화가의 내면에 잠재된 ‘상실’과 ‘거절’에 대한 두려움이 불안을 야기하고, 불안에 대한 방어기제가 사랑에 대한 거부와 배척을 낳은 것이다. 결국 뭉크의 작품에 표현된 불안과 죽음은 좌절된 욕구, 즉 사랑과 삶에 대한 갈망의 또 다른 표현인 것이다. 현대인들의 심리상태를 예시해주는 뭉크의 작품들은 무의식의 표출과 이해를 돕는 미술치료의 매체로도 활용 가능할 것이다.

A representative artist of Norway, Edvard Munch is regarded as a forerunner of expressionism. In this study, I tried to find the basis of anxiety and fear about the existence that the artist suffered throughout his entire life through the images of women depicted in his art, and have reviewed the processes of changes of internal consciousness and psychology of the artist in connection with that. For this, I have divided the images of women reproduced in his works into three categories and I have analyzed the subjective meaning based on the experiences of the artist in his life together with the meanings of epochal and artistic history that each category possessed. Through three different types of women, Munch emphasized that love is the biggest factor causing anxiety in life and the final destination of love is death after all. Negative emotions of the artist about love, life, and women reflected in his art works all originated from his insecure attachment with his parents during his youth. In other words, fear of loss and rejection embedded in the inner world of the artist caused anxiety and a defensive mechanism against that anxiety produced the rejection and dismissal of love. After all, fear and death expressed in his art works were another expression of frustrated desires, that is, aspiration for love and life. Furthermore, the art works of Munch that exemplify the psychological status of modern people can be used as media for art therapy that facilitates the expression and understanding of the subconscious.

A representative artist of Norway, Edvard Munch is regarded as a forerunner of expressionism. In this study, I tried to find the basis of anxiety and fear about the existence that the artist suffered throughout his entire life through the images of women depicted in his art, and have reviewed the processes of changes of internal consciousness and psychology of the artist in connection with that. For this, I have divided the images of women reproduced in his works into three categories and I have analyzed the subjective meaning based on the experiences of the artist in his life together with the meanings of epochal and artistic history that each category possessed. Through three different types of women, Munch emphasized that love is the biggest factor causing anxiety in life and the final destination of love is death after all. Negative emotions of the artist about love, life, and women reflected in his art works all originated from his insecure attachment with his parents during his youth. In other words, fear of loss and rejection embedded in the inner world of the artist caused anxiety and a defensive mechanism against that anxiety produced the rejection and dismissal of love. After all, fear and death expressed in his art works were another expression of frustrated desires, that is, aspiration for love and life. Furthermore, the art works of Munch that exemplify the psychological status of modern people can be used as media for art therapy that facilitates the expression and understanding of the subconscious.

Art Therapy, Anxiety, Death, Insecure Attachment