The Dance of Life

A dance on a summer night by the sea

On a meadow by the shore, couples dance under a low moon whose reflection makes a column of light on the water. Edvard Munch painted The Dance of Life in 1899 to 1900, at Åsgårdstrand on the Oslo fjord. It belongs to the National Museum in Oslo.

It is one of the central works of his Frieze of Life, a cycle about love, jealousy, anxiety and death.

Three women, three stages of life

At the left, a young woman in a white dress smiles and reaches towards a flower. She is usually read as innocence and youthful hope.

At the centre, a woman in a red dress dances with a man in black. Her dress wraps around his feet as if holding him. She stands for passion.

At the right, a woman in black stands alone with clasped hands and a sad face. She is usually seen as mourning or disappointed love. Some writers note that the three women may be the same woman at different ages.

Other couples in the background

Behind them, other couples whirl. One man with a grotesque, leering face clutches his partner. Their energy contrasts with the stiff, frozen central pair.

The moon and its pillar of reflected light appear in many of Munch’s Åsgårdstrand pictures. It is often read as a symbol of love or desire.

A key work of The Frieze of Life

The Dance of Life is one of the central paintings of Munch’s Frieze of Life. It brings together several of the series’ themes in one image: youth, love, jealousy, ageing and loss. Munch described it as a picture of the dance of life on a light summer night.

The three women

At the left, a young woman in white reaches towards flowers, full of hope. At the centre, a woman in red dances with a man, her dress wrapping around his legs. At the right, a woman in black stands alone, her hands clasped, watching. The three figures are often read as three stages of a woman’s life, or of love: innocence, passion and grief.

The man at the centre is often identified with Munch himself, and the women with women he loved. The painting is both universal and personal.

A Scandinavian summer night

In Norway, summer nights are bright, and the sun barely sets. Midsummer was celebrated with dances by the shore. Munch set the scene at Åsgårdstrand, where he spent many summers. The moon’s reflection forms a long column on the water, a motif that appears in many of his paintings.

Strong, symbolic colour

Munch used flat areas of strong colour: white, red and black for the three women, green for the meadow, blue for the sea. The colours are chosen for meaning more than realism. The other dancers behind are painted in looser, more grotesque forms, their faces distorted by passion.

Where to see it

The Dance of Life hangs in the National Museum in Oslo. Our hand-painted oil reproduction follows this composition. You can also read about Munch’s Madonna and Melancholy.

Questions about The Dance of Life

Where was it painted?

At Åsgårdstrand on the Oslo fjord, in 1899 to 1900.

Where is the original?

National Museum, Oslo.

What do the three women mean?

They are usually read as innocence (white), passion (red) and mourning (black).

How large is it?

About 125.5 × 190.5 centimetres, oil on canvas.

Where was it painted?

At Åsgårdstrand on the Oslo fjord, where Munch spent his summers.

What do the three women represent?

They are often read as stages of love or of a woman’s life: innocence, passion and grief.

Sources and image credit

• National Museum, Oslo: The Dance of Life, NG.M.00941
• Wikimedia Commons: The Dance of Life

Public-domain reproduction of The Dance of Life (1899 to 1900), via Wikimedia Commons (National Museum, Oslo). Detail images are crops of the same historical painting; no reconstruction or upscaling.