World Famous Painters Collection - Munch

Author: He Zhengguang, Editor-in-Chief
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2003-01-01
Features: Edvard Munch (1863–1944), a genius in expressionist painting born in Norway, was an artist with multifaceted talents and a unique style. From the age of seventeen when he aspired to pursue art creation until his death at the age of eighty in January 1944, over sixty-three years, he created over 1,700 oil paintings, a vast number of sketches and drawings, as well as 800 prints on various themes, employing diverse techniques and exuding vigorous energy. The most striking feature of Munch's artistic works is how he profoundly expressed the anxieties of life, the anguish of love, the fear of death, and the acceptance of life through landscapes, laborers, portraits, and self-portraits. His paintings also possess the sharpness and penetrating influence of the Danish playwright Ibsen. His relentless portrayal of the suffering of love and the fear of death reflects the anxieties of Norwegians toward life. From Munch's paintings, we can sense the helplessness of humanity when faced with the irresistible power of sexuality, the mystery of life, and the anxiety of sexuality replacing the romantic fear in aesthetics.
Edvard Munch (1863–1944), a genius in expressionist painting born in Norway, was an artist with multifaceted talents and a unique style. From the age of seventeen when he aspired to pursue art creation until his death at the age of eighty in January 1944, over sixty-three years, he created over 1,700 oil paintings, a vast number of sketches and drawings, as well as 800 prints on various themes, employing diverse techniques and exuding vigorous energy. The most striking feature of Munch's artistic works is how he profoundly expressed the anxieties of life, the anguish of love, the fear of death, and the acceptance of life through landscapes, laborers, portraits, and self-portraits. His paintings also possess the sharpness and penetrating influence of the Danish playwright Ibsen. His relentless portrayal of the suffering of love and the fear of death reflects the anxieties of Norwegians toward life. From Munch's paintings, we can sense the helplessness of humanity when faced with the irresistible power of sexuality, the mystery of life, and the anxiety of sexuality replacing the romantic fear in aesthetics.
Works such as Puberty, The Kiss, and The Scream are among Munch's famous masterpieces. The Kiss touches upon the essence of life and the meaning of love. The Scream depicts how sudden stimuli alter our perceptions, with the figure screaming on the bridge having hollowed cheeks resembling a skull, and the background of fire and blood swirling like a vortex across the sky. We can never know why that person is screaming, making the painting even more unsettling. The year after The Scream, he painted Puberty, depicting a naked young girl sitting at the edge of a bed, her long hair flowing behind her, her hands placed on her knees, revealing the anxiety in her heart. His style is deeply characterized by expressionism, also containing elements of mysticism and symbolism. He was admired by the young artists of Germany's "Bridge Group."
On April 9, 1940, fourteen days after German Nazi forces invaded Norway, Munch left a will: "This house and all my works are donated to Oslo City." In 1963, the Munch Museum in Oslo was officially opened, housing over 1,000 of Munch's works, photographs, manuscripts, and personal documents. These rich artistic collections not only provide later art scholars with material for academic research but are also frequently lent for exhibitions in major cities around the world. As a result, Munch's art has received high evaluation in recent years.
This book introduces his artistic career and his main representative works while also translating a monograph by a German scholar, Snijders, on Munch, titled "The Sick Child," offering readers a deeper understanding of Munch's art.