Art – Edvard Munch episode 3: this film goes behind the scenes to show the process of putting together the exhibition honouring the 150th anniversary of the birth of Edvard Munch. In 2013, all of Norway celebrated the 150th anniversary of the birth of Edvard Munch, one of the towering figures of modern art. This was hailed a “once-in-a-lifetime show”. Global interest was huge – not least as a result of one of his four The Scream paintings having recently set a public art auction record of $120 million.
Art – Edvard Munch episode 3
Many only know Munch as the man who painted The Scream but his complete works are remarkable and secure his place as one of the greatest artists in history.
Munch 150 was co-hosted by the National Museum and the Munch Museum, both in Oslo. With 220 paintings on show, it brought together the greatest number of Munch’s key works in one place. This film goes behind-the-scenes to show the process of putting the exhibition together as well as providing an in-depth biography of a man who lived from the mid-19th century right through to the German occupation of Norway in the Second World War.
Edvard Munch (12 December 1863 – 23 January 1944) was a Norwegian painter, whose best known work, The Scream, has become one of the most iconic images of world art. His childhood was overshadowed by illness, bereavement and the dread of inheriting a mental condition that ran in the family. Studying at the Royal School of Art and Design in Kristiania (today’s Oslo), Munch began to live a bohemian life under the influence of nihilist Hans Jæger, who urged him to paint his own emotional and psychological state (‘soul painting’). From this would presently emerge his distinctive style.
Travel brought new influences and new outlets. In Paris, he learned much from Paul Gauguin, Vincent van Gogh and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, especially their use of colour. In Berlin, he met Swedish dramatist August Strindberg, whom he painted, as he embarked on his major canon The Frieze of Life, depicting a series of deeply-felt themes such as love, anxiety, jealousy and betrayal, steeped in atmosphere.
