The painter Edvard Munch was a tormented man, who had a very dark childhood. “His personal life as an adult was a mess, but he managed to express all his anguish through his creative and disturbing paintings” (Belmont 1). As we take a look at his personal life and how things turned out for him, you will discover many things that will surprise you. It all began when Edvard Munch was born on December 12, 1863 in Loten, Norway. He grew up with a father who was a military doctor. His mother had died when he was five years old from tuberculosis. A few years later, in 1877, his sister Sophie died of the same disease along with her brother. His only brother actually married later, but died shortly after. His only remaining sister, Karen, took over the household (Edvard 1). These were obviously some pretty depressing things that had happened to him. He was stunned by what had happened. Especially at the young age he was at, he didn't know what to do with it. These deaths could explain his thinking at the time of his paintings. After growing up he entered a technical institute to become an engineer. Because his family members had fallen ill and died, the diseases had been passed on to him. He was a very sickly man during his lifetime. He dropped out of college to become a painter because his illnesses were interrupting his studies. In 1881 Munch enrolled at the Royal School of Art and Design (Edvard 1). It was there that he painted his first self-portrait. In 1885 he worked on one of his paintings which would soon become very popular. It was called "The Sick Child". After exhibiting his works at the Exhibition of Industries and Art, Munch decided to go to study in Paris at the Bonnat School of Art in 1889. The same year his father died, yet another death in Edvard's life. . He returned to Norway due to his father's death, and then returned to Paris for the rest of his studies (Edvard 1). After all the deaths within his family, Munch began to abuse alcohol. His body was negatively impacted, worsening his health. After school, Edvard moved to Berlin. He was invited to an exhibition and sparked a bitter controversy. After about a week the exhibition was closed.