Internship in Paris and life in Berlin introduced Munch to the latest, and the most radical, currents in art and immersed in the bohemian life, which the young artist had a tendency to. Back in his hometown, he came close to the Bohemian Christian society, where creative young people preached according to the progressive trends of the time, freedom in love, creativity and money. Here, Munch was instructed by company leader Hans Eger to "write his life".
Gloomy moods, fatal love, mysticism, sinful women in the image of saints, the artist crucified on the cross - all this became the subjects of the most famous, sensual and bold, paintings of Munch period of symbolism. At the same time, he established himself in his manner of writing "unfinished paintings", often leaving them fragments of unpainted canvas, refused to straight lines in favor of twisted, inflated, wavy.
In Berlin, Munch came into contact with the Swedish writer August Strindberg, Polish writer Stanislaw Przybyszewski and the beautiful Dagny Jul who had a novel with all of them. She served as a model for many of Munch's works. The passion of all four for mysticism, occultism and Satanism had a bad influence on mental health, but stimulated creativity. About one of the eccentric paintings of the time, "Vampire", where a redheaded woman absorbed into the neck lover, Munch said a lot later coldly: "Literary plot makes actually the name of" Vampire ", in fact, it's just a woman kissing a man in the neck.
Here, in Berlin, he wrote the first "Scream", remembering the sudden panic horror that swept him in the park of Christianity. It is believed that the bloody sunset that scared the artist was a distant consequence of the eruption of the volcano Krakatoa. Although it doesn't really matter what impression the work has had, it's amazing what impact it still has on the viewer. In Germany, Munch started the "Freeze of Life" cycle, which he worked on for 30 years.
"My paintings, my diaries, I write not what I see, but what I see" is one of Munch's most famous phrases. After many years in Germany, the artist returned to his homeland in the late 1890s, where his life and religion became work. He paints portraits and landscapes, continues to experiment a lot with lithography and engraving, and spends most of his time in the studio. The second half of his professional life is no less fruitful than the first half, although not so famous in the history of art. Munch's portraits eventually become more monumental, landscapes brighter and brighter, and the paintings disappear with significant and far-fetched plots, giving way to prosaic ones. Munch still writes his life, only his life has changed.
How exactly - can be traced at the exhibition in Tretyakovka, comparing, for example, "Self-portrait in hell" in 1903, where against the hellish flame is a naked hero, with a full of self-irony "Self-portrait with bottles" in 1938, which is much more interesting and daring to paint. Not to mention one of the last masterpieces of Munch, "Self-portrait between the clock and the bed", where there is no flirting with death, but only humility in anticipation of her. And the tragedy is achieved not by the spectacular neighborhood of the fiery and demonic black, as in the early work, but by the collision of blue, green, yellow and red in almost everyday life, that is, the decorative nature, which in his youth so despised the artist.
The Big Munch Exhibition was last held in our country in the Hermitage 35 years ago. For those who have not seen his works shown in the museums of the world - and they are held all the time - the Tretyakov Gallery and the Munch Museum in Oslo provide an opportunity to get to know the author of "The Scream". There is no point in neglecting this opportunity.