Introduction
Distorted, exaggerated, and symbolic. Many people have seen many pieces of art that have these unique characteristics. However, they do not realize what this art is portraying. One well known artists’ work they may refer to is Edvard Munch’s.. The piece he is known for is “The Scream” but in reality Munch has thousands and thousands of more pieces of art. Munch is a widely renowned artist that lived from 1863-1944. Munch worked with many styles of art including expressionism and symbolist art. He presented these works in mediums such as paintings, carvings, and even photography. Countless pieces of his work portrayed emotions that were deep set in him from childhood. These real life experiences and feeling allowed him to exhibit these feelings in beautiful, unique artwork.
Biography
Edvard Munch was born on December 12, 1863. He was born into a family of four siblings and his mother and father. His father was a christian physician. From the beginning of Munch’s tragic life his mother and sister died leaving him with his father’s influences. As a Christian, his father tried to convince him that these deaths were acts of punishment from God. Munch was later able to take this feelings deep rooted in him and produce inspiring artwork that portrayed real emotions. Paintings such as “Death in the Sickroom” and “By the Death Bed” portray emotions that Munch felt through his sister and mother’s deaths. Munch also struggled with finding love. He had a few interests over the years but never completely settled. This caused many painting of love and the emotions felt in it. In 1885-1908 Munch spent time in Berlin and Paris. In 1909 he returned home and a more cheerful tone was seen in his art.
Accomplishment
The frieze of life was a series of paintings created by Munch. These paintings focused on capturing different emotions from positive to negative.
Historical Backdrop
During the time Edvard Munch lived, many events were occuring. World War I.World War II
Analysis
When analysing Munch’s work there are many reoccuring themes such as emotion and real tramatic life experiences. Munch’s artwork was distinct for its time. It became controversial because it expressed the internal views of the world instead of the surface level things. Munch’s artwork was involved in movements such as expressionism and symbolism. Munch is Considered the father of expressionism. On a wall at the Munch Museum in Oslo, it reads, “Munch is rightly celebrated as a father of Expressionism. His extreme originality and intentiveness were a driving force for young expressionist artists at the dawn of the 20th century…
The present exhibition demonstrates how Munch’s radical approach to printmaking, his bold colors and daring compositions, together with his fresh take on age-old subjects such as portraiture and landscape painting, showed the way forward to a new, revolutionary generation of German and Austrian artists. Munch was a driving force of the expressionist movement and is honored for that. Munch was also part of the movement for symbolism. Munch allowed his artwork to serve a symbols of the emotions he was trying to express. His artwork was raw and real allowing the viewer to feel the emotion behind each piece.
