He certainly believed that “blues and violets bring an anxious...

He certainly believed that “blues and violets bring an anxious, tender, longing mood, because they always convey darkness and coolness; the deepest purple has an unsettling effect” (Steinberg, 13). Undeniably, the artist’s choice of colors does play a major role in his use of the uncanny and the sublime. Naturally, the painter’s violent brush strokes that appear in the foreground create the wave’s force, resonate with strength, and also help depict the dynamically sublime.

Furthermore, Munch’s placement of the lone figure right before the canvas ends, as well as his decision to make him almost unnoticeable at first glance, emphasizes how small the human being really is when faced with the overpowering grandeur of nature, thus fulfilling the requirements of the dynamically sublime, which resonates anxiety when it evokes a feeling of helpless in the face of nature.

Towards the Forest I (1897), a colored woodcut, fits more into the artist’s “common” style, including a nude, female figure, “at once vulnerable and seductive” (Berman), a fully dressed male one, as well as the discernable and enveloping red hair - all common motifs evident in his Frieze of Life series. At first glance, the female nude, turned away from the spectator, stands out against the dark and dim colors of this work, asserting Munch’s belief in the power of women’s sexuality.

The male figure, who also presents his back to the spectator, is fully dressed in dark garments. This figure appears in a stark contrast to the woman, whose red hair erotically slides down her back and onto the man’s shoulder and head. Munch strongly believed in the power of hair, which can “envelop and strangle, or provide a sought-for connection” (Harris, 7). His use of this motif is even more evident in works such as Vampire (1893) and Ashes (1894), which will be discussed later.

Both figures are moving forward - right leg first, at a pace, which seems to be rather slow or poised - while gazing at the unknown. They are trotting on green grass, broken up by pale yellow strokes, while the moon’s reflection is hidden behind the large trees and reaches up towards the sky. The scene becomes darker and creates an uncanny undertone as they enter deeper into the unknown. The proposed “union” transforms into one that no longer seems passionate and loving (Zogaris, 23).