Arts & Leisure
Recent addition to the York Public Library's collection focuses on renowned Norwegian artist
By Rose Safran
YORK VILLAGE - Among the newer acquisitions at the York Public Library is "Edvard Munch: The Modern Life of the Soul," which was published by New York City's Museum of Modern Art in conjunction with a stunning retrospective of the artist's oeuvre held there this past spring.The exhibition, which this writer was fortunate in seeing, revealed a depth of psychological understanding and artistic scope well beyond that familiar Munch (1863-1944) icon, "The Scream" which was executed several times. The book at the York Public Library is also comprehensive in exploring both the insightful paintings and extraordinary graphic work produced by the famous Norwegian.
On page 10, opposite the introduction, are nine telling self-portraits: they lead us through some of the famous artist's own "dance of life" - various stages in his psychologically troubled, complex, life drama, affording a glimpse into his moods, ranging from somber, worldly youthful promise, through mid-life crisis, to stripped-bare, skeletal, ravaged, sunken-eyed old age.
In one self-portrait, symbolically, he places a skeletal arm bone horizontally across the image's bottom. In another, "Salome Paraphrased," a blood-red hair suggestion drips down, engulfing his disembodied head.
Suffering through loss, his psyche overloaded with considerable personal travail - he had a breakdown in 1908 - Munch perhaps painted away his troubles.
In this volume, several authorities interpret his images, frequently in relation to his biography, sometimes questioning pre-conceived ideas. In the essay, "'Could Only Have Been Painted by a Madman' - Or Could It?" considerable attention is given his famous autobiographical icon, "The Scream." - "...I felt a loud, unending scream piercing nature" - first painted in 1893, various versions of which are here, including its 1895 lithograph reproduction in the symbolist French publication, "La Revue Blanche."
"...I paint what I saw." Munch is quoted as saying.
Birth, love and death with all their complexities are his recurring "frieze of life" themes. Along with insight into the human condition (as he saw it), an "art dedicated to the human emotion," the plates and other images here give testimony to Munch's versatility, technical skill and originality of style.
In the text, art historians shed light on his early naturalist approach, his depiction of reality and his ultimate adaptation of expressionism to transmit psychological experience and passion. Early on in Paris, his inspiration: Van Gogh and Gauguin. Later, mysticism and the occult in Berlin and later, too, to some extent, Matisse.
Along with informative scholarly essays, this book covers a wide range of his art, both his largely melancholic fine art and his brilliant graphic art.
The Munch palette embraces urban streets, the countryside, Nordic mythology/folklore, people singly and in social situations. Portraiture includes insightful comments on his family, friends, and notables such as Strindberg and Ibsen. Perceptive works of gloom, emotionally charged, such as "The Sick Child" (of 1885-6 - his dying sister), "Vampire," "Death in the Sick Room" and "The Storm" present anguish. Suffering has a deathlike face with circular fearful eyes in spooky, heady, darkish, uniquely Munchian works of art, such as "Angst," depicting, in the artist's words, "..pale corpses."
On the other hand, among 156 well-annotated plates are festive scenes such as "Spring Day on Karl Johan Street" - charming child portraits including "Ludwig Meyer's Children" and "The Four Sons of Dr. Linde," "Fertility" of 1898, reflecting nature's bounty and a colorful military band. Also, his murals for the University of Oslo's Festival Hall depict positive abundance, including his 1912 depiction of "The Sun" (Study), an allegorical vision of powerful awakening light.
In scholarly, interpretative essays, Munch, the man appears: the rebellious youth, his bohemian inclinations, his interpretations of life's mystery, the influence of Nietzsche (whose portrait he painted), urban themes, his conflicted "soul."
Printmakers and commercial artists might be drawn to the chapter on the artist's masterful modernist graphic art, which he began to produce in 1894 with the lithograph "Puberty" and which culminated with his final woodcut, the abstract "Kiss in the Field" of 1943. Munch is reported to have made 750 print images, many derived from his fine art. An insightful essay on his career, a listing of his exhibition history, a detailed 18-page chronology and a bibliography further round out this invaluable resource on this extraordinary artist.
A version of this review first appeared in "Maine Antique Digest."
