Printmaking was a vital and highly experimental part of Edvard Munch’s artistic practice. To make Vampire II he used a single block of wood, cut into four sections and inked in blue, green and ochre. He produced the brushstroke-like lines in red and grey using lithography. The suffering caused by love was one of Munch’s recurring themes. By replacing his original title for this image, Love and Pain, the woman’s gesture was transformed from a kiss into a vampire bite.