If
he’d been a musician, he would have been called a one-hit wonder.
The reality, however, is that Edvard Munch painted a number of masterpieces in addition to the one for which he is
so well known: The Scream. And now, for the first
time in 30 years, fans of the expressionist can travel to New York to check out these lesser known masterpieces (or
simply listen to the excellent audio tour here).
The exhibit, at MoMA, offers a fascinating look into the psyche of the man
who brought us the art world’s most iconic image of horror. And, as you might imagine, it is rather
troubled. Journalist Porter Anderson (CNN.Com) raises an interesting observation which seemed to echo
amongst those touring the exhibit: When did he turn? At what point did Munch truly lose it and transition from
pleasant self-portraits and landscapes to the twisted and contorted bug-eyed ghouls—himself included—who
inhabit his later paintings? Wow. This is not an art exhibit so much as a tour through the mental demise of
a truly tortured artist.
Go now before thieves
steal any more of his works.