plate no. 0238

The Sick Child

oilExpressionismgenre paintingfigureinteriorsicknessemotionbedsidechair

what to study here

It shows how a tight value hierarchy, agitated cool background strokes, and soft edges can carry emotion without detailed anatomy.

Start with the value plan. The darkest darks, the woman's navy-black clothing and the shadow in the chair, surround the lightest light, the child's pale face and the white pillow behind it. Light comes from the upper left, so the face reads first and everything else steps back. Mid-values sit in warm browns and grays for the faces and the red hair, set against a cooler teal mid-value in the wall. Next, look at the background. It is built from turbulent vertical strokes in teal and blue-green that describe mood more than a wall. The brushwork is loose and directional, and the faces are modeled with soft, blended edges and no hard outline on the profile. The woman bends in from the right and grips the child's arm, so the contact point carries the emotion. A red chair in the lower left is the one strong warm accent against the cool field. Practice keeping the child's complexion pale and slightly grayed, and keep the edges soft where face meets background.

key decision

Munch set the pale, softly modeled face against the darkest darks and a turbulent teal background, so value contrast and brushwork carry the feeling instead of drawn detail.

From the record

Dimensions: 120 cm high × 118.5 cm wide
Institution: National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design
Location: National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, National Gallery of Norway
Inception: 1885
Materials: oil paint, canvas

Wikidata item Q55421856

recreation guide

The Sick Child (1886) is a seminal work in Edvard Munch’s oeuvre, serving as a visual record of the traumatic death of his sister, Johanne Sophie, from tuberculosis. The painting is distinctive for its raw emotional intensity and its departure from academic realism, aligning with Munch’s philosophy that art should express inner feelings rather than merely imitate nature (Source 1, Source 7). The composition focuses on the psychological weight of grief, depicting the dying girl propped by a large white pillow and a grieving woman, likely her aunt, clutching her hands (Source 1). The work is characterized by a 'sickly pallor' and a 'haunted expression,' utilizing color and form to convey despair and guilt rather than anatomical precision (Source 1, Source 7).

estimated time

20-30 hours over 5-7 sessions

materials

5 items

steps

6 in sequence

materials

item	purpose	modern equivalent
Oil paints (Ultramarine, White, Black, Red, Yellow)	Primary pigments for glazing and scumbling as described in traditional oil practice.	Artist-grade oil paints
Linseed oil or Oil of Copavia	Medium for glazing and ensuring proper drying layers.	Stand oil or refined linseed oil
Canvas or Panel	Support surface.	Linen canvas primed with gesso
Charcoal or Thinned Paint	For initial sketching and underdrawing.	Vine charcoal or raw umber thinned with solvent
Solvents (Mineral Spirits/Turpentine)	Thinning paint for initial layers and cleaning brushes.	Odorless mineral spirits

preparation

surface prep

Prepare a neutral ground. While Munch’s specific ground preparation for this 1886 work is not explicitly detailed in the sources, traditional oil painting practice involves sketching the subject onto the canvas with charcoal or thinned paint (Source 8). Given Munch’s association with the Kristiania Bohème and his rejection of narrow bourgeois conventions, the surface should be prepared to allow for expressive, non-academic handling of the paint (Source 6).

underdrawing

Sketch the composition lightly. Munch’s works are often described as 'not complete' in the academic sense because he paints only the essential emotional content (Source 7). The underdrawing should establish the profile of the girl, the large white pillow, the dark blanket, and the grieving woman, avoiding rigid outlines that might constrain the expressive brushwork later (Source 1, Source 7).

underpainting

Apply a monochrome underpainting (grisaille). Traditional practice, referenced in the sources, suggests creating a grisaille base by mentally extracting red and yellow colors to establish form and value before applying color (Source 3). This allows the artist to focus on the 'ravages of the disease' and the emotional weight of the scene without being distracted by color mixing initially (Source 1, Source 3).

color palette

White

Lead White or Titanium White

The large thick pillow propping up the girl; creates high contrast against the dark elements (Source 1).

Dark/Black

Black, Ultramarine, or dark earth tones

The heavy blanket, the dark-haired woman’s clothing, and the ominous curtain symbolizing death (Source 1).

Sickly Pallor

White mixed with subtle hints of red/yellow or grey

The girl’s face and hands, depicting her frailty and tuberculosis symptoms (Source 1).

Red/Yellow

Transparent reds and yellows

Glazing and scumbling to add warmth and life to the flesh tones and emotional intensity, applied over the dry grisaille (Source 3).

composition

The composition centers on the girl in profile, lying on her deathbed, with a large white pillow partially hiding a circular mirror on the wall (Source 1). The grieving woman is positioned to the right, her head bowed, creating a diagonal tension between the two figures (Source 1). The girl looks towards a dark, portentous curtain on the left, which serves as a symbol of death and draws the viewer’s eye (Source 1). The composition avoids exact bisections, using the prominent subject off-center to create emotional tension (Source 5). The contrast between the detailed, expressive faces and the simpler background elements aids the eye in focusing on the emotional core (Source 5).

step by step

underdrawing→underpainting→first pass→refining→finishing→varnishing

underdrawing

step 01
Sketch the basic forms of the girl, the pillow, the woman, and the curtain using charcoal or thinned paint.
Tip — Focus on the profile of the girl and the bowed head of the woman to capture the emotional dynamic.
Initial sketching

underpainting

step 02
Apply a grisaille underpainting using black, ultramarine, and white to establish values and forms.
Tip — Mentally extract red and yellow colors to focus on form and light/shadow.
Grisaille

first pass

step 03
Once the grisaille is dry, begin glazing with transparent coats of red and yellow tones.
Tip — Apply thin layers of color to build up the sickly pallor of the girl’s skin and the warmth of the scene.
Glazing

refining

step 04
Use scumbling to add semi-opaque layers, particularly for the white pillow and the dark blanket.
Tip — Scumbling over darker grounds can create a cold, grey bloom, useful for the somber mood.
Scumbling

finishing

step 05
Refine the facial expressions to convey the 'haunted' look of the girl and the grief of the woman.
Tip — Avoid over-modeling; Munch’s style is about capturing the essential emotion, not academic perfection.
Expressive brushwork

varnishing

step 06
Apply a final varnish to protect the painting and unify the glazes.
Tip — Ensure all layers are fully dry to prevent cracking.
Varnishing

critical techniques

Glazing

Applying transparent coats of color over a dry underpainting to build depth and luminosity, particularly for flesh tones.

Scumbling

Applying semi-opaque paint over a darker ground to create texture and subtle color shifts, such as the grey bloom on the pillow or blanket.

Emotional Expression over Realism

Prioritizing the conveyance of despair and guilt over anatomical accuracy, consistent with Munch’s 'soul painting' philosophy.

common pitfalls

→Over-modeling the figures, which contradicts Munch’s expressive style and the advice to avoid being 'too much tied down to your outline' (Source 2, Source 7).
→Applying wet paint over wet paint without following the 'fat over lean' rule, which can lead to cracking and peeling (Source 8).
→Focusing too much on realistic detail rather than the emotional essence, which Munch considered the primary goal of his art (Source 7).

what the sources don't tell us

Where the corpus is silent, we say so rather than guess. These are the gaps a complete recreation guide would normally cover that our source passages don't.

·The specific pigments Munch used in 1886 are not detailed in the sources; modern equivalents are suggested based on general oil painting practice.
·The exact texture and thickness of the paint application (impasto vs. thin glaze) for specific areas like the curtain or blanket are not explicitly described, requiring artistic interpretation based on the 'expressive' style.
·The precise dimensions of the canvas are not provided, though the composition notes can guide the aspect ratio.

grounded in

The technical procedure in this guide traces to the following classical art-instruction texts.

The Practice of Oil Painting↗
- COLOURING A MONOCHROME — applied to Techniques of glazing and scumbling, and the use of grisaille underpainting.

cross-referenced from

Named facts about this artwork and artist were checked against these reference pages.

Wikipedia: The Sick Child (Munch)↗
- The Sick Child (Munch) — part 1 — applied to Subject matter, emotional content, and visual details like the pillow, curtain, and expressions.
Wikipedia bio — Edvard Munch↗
- Edvard Munch — part 7 — applied to Munch’s artistic philosophy of expressing inner feelings and avoiding academic completeness.
Wikipedia: Oil painting↗
- Oil painting — part 2 — applied to General oil painting techniques, including 'fat over lean' rule and drying times.
Wikipedia: Composition (visual arts)↗
- Composition (visual arts) — part 6 — applied to General compositional principles like center of interest and avoiding bisections.

Read more about the corpus on the sources page and how the guides are built on the methods page.

read from the painting

observed from the image, not the label

6 dominant colors, measured

what the eye sees

A pale, red-haired child lies on the left side of the composition, facing left in profile, wearing dark clothing. An older woman with dark hair bends forward from the right, gripping the child's arm in a gesture of care or grief. The light source comes from the upper left, strongly illuminating the child's sickly face and the white pillow behind. The background is dominated by turbulent vertical strokes in teal and blue-green, suggesting both an interior wall and emotional turbulence. A distinct red chair anchors the lower left corner, its warm tone a bold counterpoint to the cool, melancholic atmosphere.

value structure

The darkest darks—the woman's navy-black clothing and the deep shadows of the chair—frame and emphasize the lightest light: the child's pale, nearly luminous face. Mid-values cluster in warm browns and warm grays (the faces, the child's red hair) against the cool mid-value teal of the background. This creates a clear three-value hierarchy that reads instantly: sick child (light) held by dark caregiver, both suspended in an agitated green-teal space.

observed palette and mixes

#b0a690
Lead white with a touch of raw sienna and ultramarine
The child's face, neck, and pillow; highest lights throughout
#726048
Raw sienna, ultramarine, white
Mid-tone shadows in faces, warm halftones in the woman's face and neck, wall areas
#51382d
Burnt sienna, ultramarine, touches of cadmium red
The red chair and furniture, warm shadow accents on the child's hair and drapery
#335c54
Viridian or cerulean with ultramarine and burnt umber
The background wall, bedding shadows, areas of cool reflection
#678b7a
Viridian with ultramarine and touches of white
Mid-value greens in background strokes, shadow areas on fabric, atmospheric tones
#253133
Ultramarine, ivory black, touches of alizarin
The woman's dark clothing, deepest shadows in the chair, background depth

edges and brushwork

Munch employs loose, directional brushwork throughout—especially visible in the vertical striations of the background, which pulse with emotional energy rather than describing form. Faces are modeled with soft, blended edges; no sharp outlines define the child's profile or the woman's features. Drapery and fabric are rendered with broad, gestural strokes that suggest form through color and value shift rather than precise contour. The visible texture is insistent: every stroke has weight and intention, making technique itself part of the emotional statement.

a working sequence

01
Establish composition and underpainting
Lightly block in the two figures and the chair using a neutral brown or blue-gray. Position the child's head in profile on the left, the woman bending inward from the right, and the vertical bulk of the chair in the lower left. Define the light source from above-left. This need not be detailed—think of it as a map, not a blueprint.
02
Lay in the background color and movement
Cover the background with loose, vertical strokes of teal, blue-green, and warm gray. Vary the direction and pressure of your strokes to create a sense of turbulence. The background should feel alive and uneasy, not still. Push warmer tones (a dusty yellow-green) into some areas to suggest interior light.
03
Block in the darkest values
Paint the woman's clothing in deep navy-blue and the chair in a warm reddish-brown. These anchor the composition. Use your darkest mix (ultramarine with touches of burnt sienna and black) for the shadows. Don't blend yet—let the shapes be bold and clear.
04
Establish the child's sickly complexion
Paint the child's face with a pale, slightly greenish-tinted flesh tone—avoid any rosy health. Use lead white with a tiny touch of raw sienna and a whisper of viridian. The sickness is visible: the face reads as exhausted, drained. Roughly suggest the red hair with warmed burnt sienna, letting some background show through.
05
Paint the woman's head and the hands
Block in the woman's dark hair and shadowed face using warm browns and warm grays with touches of ultramarine. Her face is less lit than the child's, so keep it warmer and slightly darker. Paint the point of contact—the woman's hands gripping or cradling the child's arm—with careful attention to the gesture: is it tenderness, desperation, resignation? The emotion lives here.
06
Add the bedding and refine fabric
Lay in the white pillow behind the child with soft, warm highlights. The bedding beneath should show cool teal and green shadows, not pure gray shadows. Use directional strokes to suggest form and fold. The fabric around the child should feel both protective and constraining.
07
Soften edges and unify value transitions
Begin blending where faces meet background, keeping edges soft and dreamlike. Don't make them sharp. Where the child's pale face meets the dark woman's shoulder, let the edge be a subtle value shift, not a hard line. Everywhere, prioritize atmosphere over precision.
08
Final intensification and color harmony
Deepen shadows where needed, especially in the background to push it back. Ensure the teal-green harmony is consistent and unmissable—it's the emotional core. Add final bright accents to the child's face and pillow to reinforce sickness and isolation. Step back and check: does the mood of helplessness and intimacy read clearly?

where studies of this painting go wrong

Overworking the faces with detail. The sickness and emotion come from color choice (the pale, slightly greenish tone) and soft brushwork, not anatomical precision. A photorealistic face would kill the expressiveness.
Making the background decorative instead of turbulent. Those vertical strokes must feel agitated and active, not merely textured. They are the emotional landscape.
Losing the pale, sickly quality of the child's complexion by adding too much warmth or rosy color. The child must read as genuinely unwell—grayish, drained, depleted.
Mishandling the spatial relationship between the two figures. The woman must feel close, almost intrusively close, pressing in from the right. The intimacy and helplessness depend on this proximity.
Hardening edges everywhere. Expressionism here thrives on softness and suggestion. A clean, sharp edge anywhere will fight the mood.
Neglecting the red chair as a compositional anchor. It grounds the chaos of the background and human drama above it. It must read clearly and confidently as warm red-brown, not blend into shadow.

measured difficulty