Seemingly an example of the lustmord depicted in art at the time, Edvard Munch's etching of Dead Lovers is believed to have been inspired by the death of his occasional model and former lover Dagny Juel, a Norwegian writer who was known for her succession of affairs with a number of prominent artists.

Munch was shocked and deeply affected by news of Dagny's murder, which may have influenced 'Dead Lovers' although the image does not reflect the details of her death.
At the time of her murder at the age of 34, Dagny had been abandoned by her husband, an alcoholic writer who had stolen the wife of a colleague. She was shot in the head while in the presence of her five year old son by a lover with whom she was travelling at the time. A day after the murder, her killer unsuccessfully attempted to take his own life.