Frank Høifødt

FRANK HØIFØDT
MUNCH “…THE SUN WAS SETTING”

Special issue. NORWAY–RUSSIA: ON THE CROSSROADS OF CULTURES

EDVARD MUNCH’S ICONIC IMAGE OF MODERN MAN “THE SCREAM”– THE BEST-KNOWN PICTURE IN THE WORLD AND THE SEMINAL WORK OF EXPRESSIONISM – CAPTURES THE VULNERABILITY AND TRAGIC ASPECT OF HUMAN EXISTENCE.

INTERNATIONAL PANORAMA

FRANK HØIFØDT
Edvard Munch "...The Sun Was Setting"

№2 2013 (39)

EDVARD MUNCH'S ICONIC IMAGE OF MODERN MAN "THE SCREAM" - THE BEST-KNOWN PICTURE IN THE WORLD AND THE SEMINAL WORK OF EXPRESSIONISM - CAPTURES THE VULNERABILITY AND TRAGIC ASPECT OF HUMAN EXISTENCE. INDEBTED TO VINCENT VAN GOGH AND PAUL GAUGUIN, MUNCH (1863-1944) SEARCHED FOR A NEW ART OF DEPTH AND AUTHENTICITY. TODAY, "THE SCREAM" HAS BECOME AN UBIQUITOUS IMAGE OF POPULAR CULTURE, SIMULTANEOUSLY "APPROPRIATED" BY AN IRONIC POSTMODERNITY. BOTH EXTREMES SEEM RELEVANT IN UNDERSTANDING THE CONTEXT OF THE SPECTACULAR PRICE OF $120 MILLION THAT WAS PAID FOR A PASTEL VERSION OF THE IMAGE IN SPRING 2012. THE FAME OF "THE SCREAM" HAS COME TO EXCEED THE FAME OF THE ARTIST: THIS DISCREPANCY SEEMS TO BE DIMINISHING, HOWEVER, AS LARGE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITIONS MAKE VIEWERS MORE FAMILIAR WITH THE BROADER ASPECTS OF MUNCH'S ART AND LEGACY. CELEBRATING THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ARTIST'S BIRTH, THE MUNCH MUSEUM AND THE NATIONAL GALLERY IN OSLO GIVE A VAST, JOINT PRESENTATION OF THE ARTIST'S WORK THIS SUMMER AND AUTUMN.