What did Edvard Munch mean by viewing sexuality as a life-creating force?

Edvard Munch viewed sexuality through a pantheistic lens, conceptualizing it as a universal, life-creating force that transcends the individual. Rather than seeing sexual union as merely a personal act, he believed it served as a vital connection between human bodies and the ongoing, elemental cycles of nature.1

This philosophy is central to his Frieze of Life series, where he explored the human experience of love, from its awakening and blossoming to its eventual withering. In works such as The Kiss, he depicted the merging of two individuals into a single, unified form, illustrating the surrender of personal identity. Similarly, his painting Madonna captures the moment of conception, representing both the ecstasy of creation and an underlying connection to the cycle of life and death. Through this perspective, Munch sought to express how human existence is inextricably linked to the broader, cosmic forces of the natural world.21