Edward Munch. Biography of the Artist

The work of the famous Norwegian expressionist painter Edward Munch (1863–1944) hides many mysteries, dramatically embodying the "spirit of the time" – the atmosphere of Europe during the decades that marked his long life. His most famous painting, "The Scream," has become a tragic symbol for many of the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, a precursor to the world wars and cataclysms of the 20th century. The book by philologist, writer, and art historian Atle Ness is a reference modern biography of Munch, uncovering the secrets of his work and allowing a closer understanding of Munch as a creator and as a person. The author expresses profound stories about the joys and hardships that fell to the artist, his complicated family history, his struggle for recognition, his falls and triumphs, those with whom he befriended and found support, and, of course, his love affairs – and the fear of love, which for him was always associated with danger, loss, and pain. The edition contains numerous color reproductions of Munch's paintings and photographs from the family archive. The author draws on extensive factual material – letters and diaries of the artist, testimonies of contemporaries, and other rarely published documents.