Comment:
The yellow mark on the horizon has traditionally been interpreted as a depiction of the great explosion at the Filipstad wharf 19. December 1943. According to the meteorological institute there was snow in Oslo at the time, as this gouache shows, and Munch’s sister Inger has recounted that he went out to paint after the explosion and caught pneumonia, which he later died of. Unless the yellow mark is an accidental blemish, it is difficult to interpret it as anything else than a large flame or explosion. In which case this is one of the very last works of art Munch managed to complete.