Edvard Munch : Magic of the North

The pictorial worlds of Edvard Munch—the initial impetus for modernism.

In 1892, the Association of Berlin Artists invited the still-unknown Edvard Munch (1863–1944) to an exhibition. The public was shocked by the colorful, sketch-like pictures. The artist enjoyed the furor and moved to the city on the Spree, where he repeatedly sojourned until 1908. It was here that he learned the techniques for printed graphics and presented paintings for the first time. These several continuous series would become central to his collection of work. Munch’s radical modernity in painting was a challenge for his contemporaries. This applied in particular to the art scene in Berlin around 1900, which the Norwegian symbolist artist influenced profoundly. In return, he received support there and was able to continue to develop his work. Edvard Munch: Magic of the North is lavishly illustrated and knowledgeably describes the story of Munch and Berlin.
 

Munch’s pictorial worlds – the initial impetus for modernism Edvard Munch’s radical modernity in painting was a challenge for his contemporaries. This applied in particular to the art scene in Berlin around 1900 which the Norwegian Symbolist artist influenced profoundly. In return, he received support there and was able to continue to develop his work. The publication is lavishly illustrated and describes knowledgeably the story of Munch and Berlin. In 1892 the Association of Berlin Artists invited the still-unknown Edvard Munch (1863–1944) to an exhibition. The public was shocked by the colourful, sketch-like pictures. The artist enjoyed the furore and moved to the city on the Spree, where he repeatedly sojourned until 1908. Here he learned the techniques for printed graphics and presented for the first time paintings in several continuous series which would become central to his oeuvre. In Berlin, before long, the concept of the “Magic of the North” (Stefan Zweig) was no longer associated with romantic or naturalistic fjord landscapes, but with Munch’s psychologically concentrated pictorial worlds.