L‘I scream it is his best known painting, but the art of Edvard Munch it certainly does not end with this albeit very intense picture. And, in fact, the artist should be discovered for the complexity of his entire artistic work, something that the documentary film broadcast on Sky Arte will try to do this evening, Tuesday 23 January, on the eightieth anniversary of his death.
Discovering Edvard Munch on Sky Arte
Munch – Loves, ghosts and vampire women will go to discover the Norwegian painter who revolutionized art and will explore the identity and conflicted spirituality of the expressionist master.
It will also analyze the context in which his parable took place, returning to the observer, thanks to interviews with artists, curators, historians and critics Munch’s profound impact on subsequent generations. Produced by 3D Produzioni and Nexo Digital, through an exceptional guide, the actress Ingrid Bolsø Berdal, viewers will pass by her house in Åsgårdstrand to the museum dedicated to him which houses the artist’s boundless legacy to the city of Oslo.
Edvard Munch: life, love, death and paintings
Characterized by innovation and experimentation, Munch’s art revealed by the documentary is made up of living and continually transforming worksinvestigative tools necessary for probing the great themes of his poetics: love, death, loneliness and time. Born on 12 December 1863 in the village of Ådalsbruk, in southern Norway, the famous artist died on 23 January 1944 at his home in Ekely, near Oslo.
After a childhood marked by poor health and numerous deaths, including that of his mother, the young Munch came into contact with the most bohemian environments of Norwegian culture. In particular, with the philosopher and activist Hans Jæger who pushes him to paint to express his inner troubles.
On Sky Arte this evening, on the eightieth anniversary of his death, the docufilm that will lead to the discovery of Edvard Munch (Photo by chesnot/Corbis via Getty Images)
The masterpieces of a tormented life
THE greatest masterpieces are the result of a tormented and painful life, marked by family losses, failures, alcoholism and loneliness. Unlike, however, Paul Gauguin and Vincent van Gogh, who shared little success in life, Munch received a lot from critics and the European public.
However, trying to label the art of the Norwegian genius is an impossible operation for its singularity and also because Munch himself refused to be compared to any group of artists.
Loneliness that kills
Despite the recognition, however, Munch sank into an unstable and exasperated mental state, aggravated by alcohol abuse. He decided to hospitalize himself and once the forced “imprisonment” was over, he managed to regain a healthier lifestyle.
There was nothing to be done, however, about the loneliness. The painter decided to isolate himself almost completely from the rest of society and the last years of his life were marked by the attempt to make himself appreciated by his motherland which had always ignored him. He committed himself to the creation of public commissions, bequeathing most of his works to the mayor of Oslo. But immediately after reaching the agreement with the mayor he died in 1944 due to bronchopneumonia.
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