Inheritance (Munch)

Inheritance (Norwegian: Arv; 1897–1899) is an oil painting on canvas created by the Norwegian painter Edvard Munch (1863–1944). It depicts a mother with syphilis holding her baby, who is affected by congenital syphilis. Munch completed the work after visiting the Hôpital Saint-Louis in Paris, where he saw a woman crying for her child with the disease.

The baby in the painting is lifeless, pale and covered in spots. The mother, whose hands and patterned skirt are especially prominent, has a tearful red face and sits on a bench in front of a green background.

The critical response to the painting was one of surprise; discussing sexually transmitted disease in public was unacceptable at the time. In addition, the artist had portrayed a distortion of the traditional artistic subject of the Madonna and Child.