Edvard Munch's Body of Work

Munch had a unique body of work within the framework of his career, termed the Frieze of Life, that stands out because of its thematic foundation. He seems to be a relatively studied, and intellectual, artist, working within a framework established through intensive reflection and analysis. At the same time, he was considered to have overstepped the boundary between sanity and madness, but he survived his nervous breakdown, and intensive drinking phase, and lived a long and productive life, if not an easy, calm one.

Having spent most of his life living in Oslo, Munch developed strong ties to that locality. In fact, it was to the City of Oslo itself that he bequeathed the bulk of his work at his death, which was considerable. As a consequence, it is possible to look at his work almost as a whole in one collection.

Munch made the strongest early assertion about his intentions in late 1880, when he stated in his journal that he had left the Technical College and developed the firm intention of becoming a painter (Boe, 1989).

. . .
ional, but European, since many of the works are outgrowths of Munch's contacts with arts and writers in both France and Germany (Boe, 1992). In some ways, Munch seems primarily an intellectual artist. His work does not seem to have much spontaneity. Instead, his work is more thematic, emerging from considerable thought, discussion, and reflection on the ideas and themes of modern European intellectual and political discourse. His art is primarily dark, with considerable eroticism, but very little humor. For example, in his work on the theme of "love," included in that presentation is a series of entitled vampire, and paintings entitled ashes. There is very little, if any, sentimentality here, or lightness. Instead, there seems to be a kind of heavy sensuality that is connected at least as much to death as it is to life. For example, in looking at one of his paintings that is entitled The Voice, this from 1896, the woman in the picture looks almost as if she is decaying while she is standing upright. These are not dynamic portraits, but very heavy. They are lush, but with considerable decay, perhaps representing that "northern" quality that is often mentioned in relationship to painters of Dutch or Scandinavian origin. His
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
Frieze Life, Germany Boe, Paris Boe, Karl Johan, Dutch Scandinavian, Gogh's Munch, Oslo Munch's, History Boe, Van Gogh's, City Oslo, frieze life, boe 1989, edvard munch, nervous breakdown, boe 1992, life ny harry, paintings entitled, ordinary life, munch moved, pale corpses, intellectual artist, 1992 frieze life, ny harry abrams, harry abrams inc, frieze life ny,
Approximate Word count = 1267
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page)

More Essays on Edvard Munch Body of Work