Day 71 - Edvard Munch

Post-Impressionism was convenient term to describe a bunch of different movements that came out of impressionism since 1886. Other terms like Modernism or Symbolism were not as widely adopted because the covered literature, architecture and other arts and they expanded to countries beyond France.

One of my favorite painters and print makers of the Symbolist movement is the Norwegian artist Edvard Munch (1863 – 1944) his work and style was very influential on expressionist art. His best-known piece is The Scream which is part of a series The Frieze of Life, a series in which he explored universal themes such as Love, Death, Anxiety, Fear, Jealousy, etc. The series became a sort of obsession as he tried to complete them to perfection throughout his later life.  I wanted to share some of his other paintings because I think just focusing on The Scream does disservice to his range and breadth of subject matter; he was truly a great painter who developed a broad mature body of work. 

Many of the pieces I enjoy the most have a backdrop of water and rocky shores, sometimes filtered through stands of evergreens.  I probably like his work so much because he worked in Norway and many of his scenes are of inlets and Fjords that are so similar to the ones that are dear to our hearts in SE Alaska, as well.  I love the blocks of colors he uses to create the impression of details in the landscape and in his interior scenes.  The minute details are not important, rather the way the elements combine together and the feeling they create become the focus.  He played with symbolized elements to represent psychological ideas and images trying to form a collective universal psyche.

Edvard Munch, By the Shore, 1898-1904

Edvard Munch,  Summer Night on the Beach

Edvard Munch, Separation

Edvard Munch, Portrait of Neitzsche

References:
2. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/09/arts/design/09munc.html?_r=1
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-Impressionism
4. http://www.newyorkartworld.com/reviews/munch.html
5. http://dedalus9.wordpress.com/tag/art-2/
6. http://www.flickr.com/photos/zarathustra/213131370/