The Dance of Life (Munch)

The Dance of Life or Life's Dance is an 1899-1900 expressionist painting by Edvard Munch, now in the National Museum of Art in Norway. Olaf Schou purchased the painting in Oslo in 1910, immediately presenting it to the National Gallery.
The painting was an important work in Munch's project The Frieze of Life, which played with themes of love, sexual anxiety, and death. In creating the painting, Munch was allegedly inspired by the 1898 Helge Rode play Dansen gaar, of which Munch kept a copy in his personal library. This painting possibly reflects Munch's feelings towards the women in his life. He had a history of love affairs ending in heartbreak.
The painting's subject is of several couples dancing on grass by water. The moon is visible, and its reflection on the water creates a phallic symbol. Two women stand alone, one young and in white, and one older and in black. The stages of life are represented by a young virgin in white, a mature woman dressed in red, and an old widow in black.