Melancholy, original title Melancholia I is a 1995 novel by the Norwegian writer Jon Fosse.

It is about the Norwegian painter Lars Hertervig (1830–1902) and his time as a young student in Düsseldorf, where he, agonised by unrequited love and doubt in his art, is driven toward a mental breakdown.

[1] It was followed by a 1996 sequel, Melancholy II, which is set on the day of Hertervig's death.

The first part of Melancholy I was the basis for Georg Friedrich Haas' 2008 opera Melancholia.

[2] Publishers Weekly wrote in 2006: "In this wild stream-of-consciousness narrative, Fosse delves into Hertervig's mind as the events of one day precipitate his mental breakdown.