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Edvard Munch
Biography
Edvard Munch was
a very competent man. He was born on December
12, 1863 in Loton, Norway. He was the son of
an Army Medical Corps doctor, Christian Munch.
His mother had the name of Laura Catherine. Edvard
was the second of five children.
In 1864, their family moved to the city of Oslo.
This is where he originated his art training.
His mother died of tuberculosis in 1868. His
aunt, Karen Bjolstad, took over the household.
Then, to his despair, his sister Sophie died
of tuberculosis, at the age of fifteen, in 1877.
In the early 1800's,
Edvard Munch became influenced by two older comrades,
Christian Krohg and Frits Thaulow. They were
into the Norwegian art scene, and had painting
based on French naturalism.
In 1879, he attended a Technical
College in November. A year later he became more
serious with his work and left the Technical
College.
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The next year, in 1881, he
entered a school of design. The first class he
took dealt with freehand, and then he decided
that he would take the modeling class.
Edvard Munch rented a studio with six other artists,
in 1882. Their work was supervised by Christian
Krohg.
In May of 1885, a scholarship from Frits Thaulow,
had Edvard Munch travel to Paris. Edvard Munch
stayed there for three weeks, and then he spent
the summer at Borre and returned to Oslo to begin
three of his major works. That is the time when
his work began to be widely known.
Sometime in 1886, he fabricated the painting "The
Sick Child '. In the painting the thoughts of
the tragic death of his sister were let out and
they were rather haunting. In the same year,
Edvard Munch had finished his series of several
versions of "The Sick Child". He was
then identified with the controversial group
called Christiania-Boheme, after a novel by the
anarchist Hans Jaegar.
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Edvard Munch's father died in
1886, in November. This was another catastrophe
that Edvard Munch was forced to live through.
From 1889 to 1892, state scholarships enabled
him to live mainly in France. He had formed a
habit of returning to Norway ever summer. Edvard
Munch had a way of French Impressionist Technique.
That was basically what his new paintings were
all about. In Paris, the explored a way of painting
while his intentions focused of replacing them
with an art symbolizing his formidable emotions.
In 1890, Edvard Munch went to France, but in
November, he had to be hospitalized, because
he had Rheumatic Fever for two months. During
that time, five or his paintings were destroyed
by a fire in Oslo.
Edvard Munch had a series of paintings (there
were six of them total), that were exhibited
in the major art show in Berlin, in 1892. The
series was titled, "The Frieze of Life",
and the six paintings caused such a shock that
the authorities ordered the show to be terminated.
Edvard Munch had so much feelings, passions,
anguish, stress, sorrow, and pain in his paintings
people did not understand. Those people were
afraid of the truth. They said that his images
were terrifying and threatening. The truth to
that story is that Edvard Munch had pain that
he needed to let out and express. When he lost
his family to death, it hurt him mentally. He
had to let out his feelings somehow. The people
that attended the art show saw more than art,
they saw one mans feelings. That is the best
form of art. That is how Edvard Munch's paintings
played a big part of the modern German expressionism.
Edvard Munch was even in an expressionism group,
called "Der Blaue Reiter." In the English
language it means,
"The Blue Rider." He was also in a
group called Dresden.
In 1895, yet another disaster,
Edvard Munch's brother Andreas died. He had way
too many deaths to deal with, for being just
one man. Over the years, Edvard Munch did lots
of traveling. He mainly kept to Oslo, Norway,
Germany, Aasgaardstrand, and Paris.
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In 1902, he had come to an end
in an unfortunate love affair. He also had lost
the joint of a finger on his left hand, from
a gunshot wound. Edvard Munch also met a man
named Dr. Max Linde, and he purchased the painting
Fertility, and then wrote a book about him. Edvard
Munch, in the same year, had the privilege to
exhibit twenty-two works from the "Frieze
of Life"
collection. That was a busy year for him.
The year of 1904, was a very important year for
his paintings and prints. Edvard Munch made important
contracts with dealers, Bruno Casirer from Berlin,
and Commeter in Hamburg. This was for his rights
to sale of his work in Germany.
1905 had a slight effect on two of the paintings
that he had produced. It is said that he had
a violent quarrel with his friend Ludvig Karsten.
This is believed to have an effect on the paintings
"The Fight" and "The Uninvited
Guest".
In 1908, Edvard Munch had an anxiety attack and
was hospitalized. He had a nervous breakdown.
That was said to have been brought on by heavy
drinking and depression. He did recover after
he had an electroshock treatment. That is when
his art went under and extreme change. That is
the time when he lost the deep feelings in his
artwork and became more imagery, which showed
nature.
In 1909, Edvard Munch had an important exhibition.
The show consisted of one hundred oils and two
hundred graphics. He had painted landscapes and
life size male portraits.
1915, was an impressive year for Edvard Munch.
He went to his third American show. It was held
in San Francisco, and he was awarded a gold medal
for his graphics. He also was then successful
enough to give financial aid to young German
artists.
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In the year 1917,
a book was published in Berlin. This book was
titled Edvard Munch. Over the years Edvard Munch
had traveled a lot. He had spread his art throughout
the world. He had many exhibitions in several
areas. Edvard Munch's most comprehensive show
was held at the "National Galerie",
in Berlin. In this who he had included 223 oil
paintings.
Another dear tragedy.
Edvard Munch's sister Laura died in 1926.
In 1930, a terrible
thing happened. Edvard Munch had afflicted eye
trouble. This recurs for the rest of his life.
In 1931, Edvard Munch is left to deal with another
death. His aunt Karen Bjolstad had died.
1937, eighty-two of his works in the German museums
were branded as "degenerate" and they
were confiscated and sold.
From 1940-1944 Edvard Munch quieted down. He
continued to paint and make prints.
On January 23,
1944, a little more than a month after his eightieth
birthday, he died peacefully at Ekely. He bequeathed
all of his work to the city of Oslo. He had 1,008
paintings, 15,391 prints, 4,443 drawings and
watercolors, and six sculptures.
In 1963, a museum
was opened to show all of his great work. The
museum is called, The
Munch-museet.
Edvard Munch had
extremely powerful paintings. The way that he
expressed himself through his artwork is simply
amazing. The pain that he had to deal with was
terrible, but he put it to good use. I find him
fascinating in so many ways. My personal favorite
painting he has ever done would be, The Scream.
When I read about him, he severely made a difference
in my life, and has reflected upon many of my
works of art.
©
Copyright 2006 Rene Cerney
Webmaster@EdvardMunch.info
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