Munch made numerous self-portraits throughout his career in a range of media. He made his first printed self-portrait in 1895 and the image exists in two primary versions. The first, dated 1895, includes an inscription of the artist’s name at the top and a skeleton arm below, which acts as a memento mori. Coupled with the dense black background from which the artist’s disembodied head emerges, this sombre work reflects Munch’s preoccupation with mortality, even at the age of thirty-two. Munch revised the image at a later date, as seen here, covering the skeleton arm with the black ink used in lithographic printing known as ‘tusche’.