Edvard Munch : psyche, symbol and expression

248 Pages·2001·22.3 MB·English

by  Howe, Jeffery W

EDVARD munch:
PSYCHE, SYMBOL AND EXPRESSION
Edvard Muiuli (1863-1944) was du' lirst Nordic visual .irlisi to
earn an inlornational rc'pulalion dmini> llu'('\|)l()sion ol c ic'.iliv
ily in die lalo niiu'ti'c'ndi and c'arly Iwc'iidotli (('ulmic's dial luis
boon callc'd du' Scandinavian Rc'iiaissaiuc\ Ilis liaunling image'
ol The Scream has Im'coiiu' an c'liibk'ni ol modc'in anxirly, and
may now bc' tlu' most lr('(|uc'ndy rc'produccel work ol ail in lIu'
world.Yi‘1 llu'ic is miich iiioic lo Mime li's arl lliaii ibis single’ slii
dcMil noU\ I’roeinclive' lor more' llian six ele'eaele's, Mime li was an
insiglidnl portraitist and landscape' paintc'i, as we'll as an c'xae ling
c'xploicr ol lumian passions, iiicineliiig nnivc’isal llu'iiu's ol love',
dc'atb and spiritual longing.
This voluiiK' acTompanic’d an e’xhibilioii lu'lel at die' (diaiIc's S.
and Isalx'lla V. McMullen Museum ol Arl al Hoslon (aillc'ge' Irom
February 5-May 20, 2001, one ol die mosi eemipre’he'nsive’ c'xlii
bitions ol Edvard Mnneb's work e’ver shown in America. The’
exhibition leatnred 83 works liy Edvard Mnneh, inelneling 25
outstanding paintings, many ol which had lU’ver hc’en on pnhiie
display belore in America. All works are illnslrale’d here in 43
color and 41 black and white plates. The eight catalog e’ssays also
include over 120 comparative illnsiralions. The c’xhihilioii and
catalog take an innovative and iiiterdi.sciplinary ap|)roaeh to llic’
study of the style, subject matter, and inter|)retations ol ihe art ol
Edvard Munch in modern Enropc'an cniinre. Scholars Irom a vari
ety ol disciplines explore the meanings ol Mnneh's image’iy, his
sources in Symbolist art and his Ic'gacy (or (iernian Expressionism
in the context ol contem[)oraneons de’velopme’nls in psychology,
literature,theater, religion,and philosophy.
To illuminate many important and Ic’ss lamiliar aspc'c Is ol
Munch's achievement, the exhihilion was organi/.e’d around sc’ve’ii
piunary the’ine’s
Boundaries 0/ ihe Self
[lower oj I’oin
Flower oj Uwe: Men and Women Mum COVER
Dcl.iil ol r.dviiril h, .S(>// 1‘ortrail in Itrtt
Nature Mysticism and Relifjion 1903, oil on canvas, 82x (tO cm
Dramatic imnqes: Munch and Ibsen Mnmli Mnscnm, Oslo, mm m 391
IKfiires in the Void: Portraits INSIDE FRONT COVER
Workers and the Land llclail ol l.clvanl Menuli, A/c'/nnr/io/y
iiScg), woocic111, 37.5 X4S-4(in
Mnsenni ol l ine' Ails, Boston
Willi.im I ramis Warden I nml, 37.33^
INSIDE BACK COVER
Dc’lail ol hdvard Mnmli, liiirounlcrin Sjxnc
1899, woodc111, nS.i X 23.1 (m
ram rnsi
I I

EDVARD MUNCH
PSYCHE, SYMBOL AND EXPRESSION
EDITED BY JEFFERY HOWE
Thispublicationisissuedinconjunctionwiththeexhibition
EdvardMunch:Psyche,SymbolandExpression
attheCharlesS.andIsabellaV. McMullen MuseumofArt,BostonCollege.
February5toMay20,2001
TheexhibitionisorganizedbytheMcMullen MuseumofArt.
PrincipalCurator;
Jeffery Howe
Co-Curators:
ClaudeCernuschi
ScottT.Cummings
KatherineNahum
VanessaRumble
StephenSchloesser,S.J.
Thisexhibitionandcatalogareunderwrittenby BostonCollegeand
thePatronsofthe McMullen Museumwithadditionalsupportfrom PerArnebergand
theAndrewE.andG.NormanWigelandFundoftheAmerican-ScandinavianFoundation.
ScandinavianAirlines Systemprovidedassistancewithtransportation.
Copyright©2001 bytheCharlesS.and IsabellaV. McMullen MuseumofArt,
BostonCollege,Chestnut Hill, MA02467
LibraryofCongresscontrol number00-135498,ISBN 1-892850-02-8
DistributedbytheUniversityofChicagoPress
ExhibitionandpublicationcoordinationbyTheaKeith-Lucas
CopyeditingbyNaomiRosenberg,Thea Keith-LucasandLisabethBuchelt
ProducedbytheOfficeofMarketingandCommunicationsatBostonCollege
andthe McMullen MuseumofArt
CatalogdesignbyJuliaSedykhDesign
PrintedandboundinSingaporebyEurasiaPress
AllworksbyEdvard Muncharereproducedwiththepermissionofthe MunchMuseum,
TheMuncli-EllingsenGroup,andtheArtistsRightsSociety,NewYork.
Photographshavebeenprovidedcourtesyof:
Allen MemorialArt Museum,OberlinCollege: fig.98
Alinari-Art Resource:fig.40
BergenKunstmuseum: fig.86
BibliothequeCharcot,LaSalpetriere: figs.46-48,51,52
SarahCampbellBlafferFoundation: nos.17,51,52
C.M.T.AssistancePublique,Paris: fig.50
CopenhagenTeatermuseum: fig.69B
DeutschesTheater: figs.70,72-75,87
DrottningsholmTeatermuseum,Sweden; fig.67
Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Niirnberg; fig. 104
HarvardUniversityArt Museums: nos. 12,23,32,34,67,71
JefferyHowe: figs. 1,7-11,60
Kunsthalle,Karlsruhe: fig.59
MetropolitanMuseumofArt, NewYork: no.7
MunchMuseum,Oslo: nos. 1,3,4,5,14, 19,33,36,38,39,49,58,59,
61,62,80,81,82; figs.5,12-18,23,26,27,32,36-39,61-63,76-78,79-84,86,117
MuseedTxelles,Brussels; fig.35
MuseumoftheCityofNewYork: fig.69A
MuseumofFineArts,Boston; nos. 10,11,13, 16,26,37,42,44,45,57,68; fig.95
TheMuseumofModernArt, NewYork: fig. 117
NationalGalleryofNorway,Oslo: nos.48,50,63,64,66,74; figs.2,3,4,6,20,85
Osterreiches Museum,Vienna; fig.71
Royal MuseumsofArt,Brussels: fig. 24
StaatsgalerieStuttgart:fig.89
Wallraf-Richarts Museum,Cologne; fig. 112
CONTENTS
DIRECTOR'S PREFACE 7
NANCY NETZER
introduction: munch in context 11
JEFFERY HOWE
THE SCANDINAVIAN CONSCIENCE: 20
KIERKEGAARD, IBSEN, AND MUNCH
VANESSA RUMBLE
“IN WILD EMBRACE”: 31
ATTACHMENT AND LOSS IN EDVARD MUNCH
KATHERINE NAHUM
nocturnes: THE MUSIC OF MELANCHOLY, AND 48
THE MYSTERIES OF LOVE AND DEATH
JEFFERY HOWE
FROM SPIRITUAL NATURALISM TO 75
PSYCHICAL naturalism: catholic decadence,
LUTHERAN MUNCH, AND MADONE MYSTERIOUC
STEPHEN SCHLOESSER, S.J.
“A STRANGE BOULDER IN THE WHIRLPOOL OF THEATER”: 111
EDVARD MUNCH, MAX REINHARDT, AND GHOSTS
SCOTT T. CUMMINGS
NOTES ON THE RECONSTRUCTION OF 132
A SCENIC DESIGNER'S MODEL FOR IBSEN'S GHOSTS
CRYSTAL TIALA
SEX AND PSYCHE, NATURE AND NURTURE, 134
THE PERSONAL AND THE POLITICAL:
EDVARD MUNCH AND GERMAN EXPRESSIONISM
CLAUDE CERNUSCHI
EDVARD munch: A BIOGRAPHICAL CHRONOLOGY 168
DANIEL BRUNET
WORKS IN THE EXHIBITION 175