science

Self-Portrait with Cigarette

Self-Portrait with Cigarette is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Self-Portrait with Cigarette rather than just read about it. In short: Self-Portrait with Cigarette (Norwegian: Selvportrett med sigarett) is an 1895 painting by the Norwegian artist Edvard Munch. Munch's use of the cigarette and physical decay as a rejection of societal values aroused controversy following the self-portrait's 1895 exhibition.

Key takeaways

Self-Portrait with Cigarette belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Self-Portrait with Cigarette to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Self-Portrait with Cigarette from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Self-Portrait with Cigarette (Norwegian: Selvportrett med sigarett) is an 1895 painting by the Norwegian artist Edvard Munch. Munch's use of the cigarette and physical decay as a rejection of societal values aroused controversy following the self-portrait's 1895 exhibition. As of 2021, the work is held by the National Gallery in Oslo.

Composition The artist is surrounded by a dark shadow as he holds a smoking cigarette. John Ravenal compares the painting's dramatic lighting to that of a stage. Sue Prideaux writes that "Munch appears from the cigarette smoke like a genie from a bottle". The cigarette, which the art historian Patricia Berman calls "a nexus for marginal social identities in the 1890s", was a symbol for "deviancy" and the "social dissolution" between class and gender boundaries. Thus, its inclusion in the self-portrait rejects traditional values and associates Munch with bohemianism and decadence. Berman also believes that the artist's depiction of himself with a "thin, dissolving body" and "sallow skin" employs physical decay to challenge social and health norms.

History The painting was exhibited at Blomqvist's in Oslo during the autumn of 1895, along with Munch's other works including the 1893 version of The Scream, the 1894–1895 version of Madonna, and Vampire. The self-portrait was originally intended to be exhibited as "twin wedding portraits" with Munch's portrait of his supposed lover Dagny Juel. However, Juel's father asked Munch to take down his daughter's portrait before the exhibition, which Munch did. Self-Portrait with Cigarette was purchased that year by the National Gallery, now part of the National Museum of Norway. The self-portrait's exhibition led to controversy surrounding Munch's mental health. Johan Scharffenberg, then a medical student, suggested the painting to be a manifestation of Munch's amorality and mental degeneration; Scharffenberg diagnosed the artist as a sick and corrupting influence on Norwegian youth. Berman identifies this and other criticism of the painting's potential danger towards society to be motivated by influential thinkers such as Max Nordau. From 1908 to 1909, Munch produced a lithograph also titled Self-Portrait with Cigarette. He also made a photographic reproduction of the painting some time between 1907 and 1909. From February to May 2006, the self-portrait and 86 other paintings by Munch were featured at the Museum of Modern Art in New York for the first 21st-century retrospective of Munch's career, titled Edvard Munch: The Modern Life of the Soul.

See also List of paintings by Edvard Munch Tobacco and art

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Self-Portrait with Cigarette

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Self-Portrait with Cigarette claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Self-Portrait with Cigarette before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Self-Portrait with Cigarette ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Self-Portrait with Cigarette

In research: Self-Portrait with Cigarette appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Self-Portrait with Cigarette in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Self-Portrait with Cigarette is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1895 paintings, Oil paintings on canvas, Paintings by Edvard Munch, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Self-Portrait with Cigarette outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Self-Portrait with Cigarette in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Self-Portrait with Cigarette means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Self-Portrait with Cigarette out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Self-Portrait with Cigarette in simple terms?

Why does Self-Portrait with Cigarette matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Self-Portrait with Cigarette?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Self-Portrait with Cigarette.