Edvard Munch's works have been interpreted as art that intensely reveals emotions such as loss, anxiety, and loneliness. Previous studies have primarily focused on his personal history or psychological suffering to interpret his works. However, art is...
Edvard Munch's works have been interpreted as art that intensely reveals emotions such as loss, anxiety, and loneliness. Previous studies have primarily focused on his personal history or psychological suffering to interpret his works. However, art is not formed solely by internal emotions; it is a complex product created through interaction with the family, society, culture, and historical environment to which the individual belongs. Therefore, this study applied Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory to Munch's major works to analyze how multi-layered environmental factors influenced his psychological experiences and their expression in his art. It further explored the potential to extend this approach as an interpretive model for art therapy. Specifically, this study aims to move beyond existing approaches that interpret an artist's work as mere psychological projection. By setting Munch as a hypothetical client and interpreting the emotions and environmental factors reflected in his works at different systemic levels, it seeks to present a framework for analyzing clients' artwork in art therapy. The research was conducted as a literature-based analysis of the works. An analytical framework was developed by reviewing ecological systems theory and its application in art therapy. Munch's biographical data was collected, incorporating the historical context of late 19th to early 20th century Europe, including social, religious, and industrial changes, as well as family loss. Subsequently, comparative analysis of art history, art psychology, and art therapy case literature was conducted to construct an analytical framework capable of structurally interpreting the correspondence between psychological experience, environmental factors, and visual expression. The subjects of analysis were selected as <!-- Not Allowed Tag Filtered --><The Sick Child> (1885–86), <!-- Not Allowed Tag Filtered --><The Scream> (1893), and <!-- Not Allowed Tag Filtered --><The Dance of Life> (1899–1900), which clearly demonstrate transitions across ecological system levels. This selection criterion was based on examining the flow of expansion from micro→meso→exo→macro→temporal systems in stages, rather than chronological order. In the work analysis, events occurring within each ecological system flow during the creation period were interpreted by contrasting them with the pictorial characteristics of clients presented in existing art therapy research. Analysis revealed that the sick child, reflecting Munch's micro-system experience at the time—the death of his sister Sophie and relationship addiction—was expressed through faint layers of color, rough brushstrokes, and a worn surface, showing similarities to the expressive tendencies of clients experiencing loss and attachment impairment. The Scream was identified as an example of the sensualization of anxiety and isolation, where intermediate and external system factors like alcohol dependence, exhibition controversies, and social exclusion manifested as bodily distortion, strong color contrasts, and a vibrating horizon. The Dance of Life structured the damage to intimate relationships—such as breakups and gunshot incidents—into a triadic framework of love–loss–solitude. The contrast of red, white, and black reflected long-term emotional shifts and temporal transitions. This demonstrates how personal experiences expand and condense over time, reorganizing into imagery. The significance of this study lies in presenting an analytical perspective that moves beyond interpreting Munch's work as confined to a single emotion or psychological projection, instead re-examining it as psychological material combined with environmental factors. Furthermore, it holds significance in expanding the analytical framework for interpreting artworks in art therapy beyond isolating emotions or symbolic signs. It enables an integrated understanding by linking visual expressions with the relational, social, and historical environments experienced by the individual. This study is limited by its reliance on literature analysis, necessitating future validation based on actual clinical data. Future research could apply the ecological systems framework to real art therapy cases, expanding into visual indicator validation, comparisons across age and clinical groups, and tracking changes over sessions. Nevertheless, this study makes an academic contribution by structurally demonstrating the applicability of ecological systems analysis in art therapy, using Munch's works as a foundation.