First exhibited in 1892 as Sad Evening, the painting belongs to Munch’s early emotional landscapes, where the outside world starts to look like an inner state.

The evening has gone still, but the mind has not.

In Melancholy, Edvard Munch pushes the figure into the lower corner, making him feel almost trapped inside his own thoughts. Behind him, the shore keeps unfolding: a couple and a man with oars move toward a yellow boat at the end of the jetty, while the water, rocks and heavy sky pull the eye back into the distance.

The sadness does not sit only on his face. It spreads across the whole scene.