The Scream edvard munch
ann temkin
the museum of modern art, new york
et’s plainly state what may seem sel-evident: The Scream now
L on view at The Museum o Modern Art is a unique work o art (g. ). It exists in contradistinction to the seemingly innite number o images, produced during the course o more than a century, that replicate, modiy, and caricature it. Edvard Munch drew this image with pastels on a sheet o paper mounted on cardboard. It measures 2 by 2 inches. He made it in 89, signing and dating it on the lower let. The artist housed the drawing in a gilded rame bearing a plaque with a text hand-lettered in red paint, signed “E. M.” The resulting object is resolutely autonomous, employing both image and text to convey the ull orce o Munch’s nightmarish vision. That being said, this Scream takes its place within a tightly knit amily o related paintings, drawings, and prints made by Munch. Multiplicity is part o its DNA, or Munch continually revisited virtually all his motis; returning to them was an integral part o his practice. Thus, long beore the legions o imitations appeared, The Scream was both singular and multiple. This pastel drawing relates most obviously to the best-known version o The Scream, now in the National Museum in Oslo, Norway (g. 2). Munch created that work in 89, just beore he turned thirty years old. From the moment this painting on cardboard was rst exhibited in December 89, The Scream became a sensationalized ocal point or both the admirers and detractors o this controversial artist.
. edvard
munch
The Scream. 89.
Pastel on paper on cardboard, 2 × 2 " (9 × 9 cm). Private collection
The painting in the National Museum itsel depends on a prior composition: a pastel drawing o 89, now in the Munch Museum in Oslo (g. ). This pastel appears to be the sketch in which Munch mapped out the essentials o the composition. In 89, the same year that Munch made the pastel drawing on view at MoMA, he made a lithograph o The Scream (g. 4). The work was among his earliest ventures in that medium. Over time he made about thirty Scream lithographs, all with black ink, most on either white or tan paper. A ew were printed on colored paper or were enhanced with watercolor. Meanwhile, Munch had retained or himsel the 89 painted version o The Scream. When he sold it some time ater the turn o the century, he painted another one to take its place in his collection (g. ). 4
2 (opposite). edvard munch
The Scream. 89.
Tempera, oil, pastel, and crayon on cardboard, ⁄6 × 29 5⁄6" (9 × . cm). The National Museum o Art, Architecture, and Design, Oslo 3 (above). edvard munch
The Scream. 89.
Pastel on cardboard, 29 1 × 22" (4 × cm). Munch Museum, Oslo
The painting in the National Museum itsel depends on a prior composition: a pastel drawing o 89, now in the Munch Museum in Oslo (g. ). This pastel appears to be the sketch in which Munch mapped out the essentials o the composition. In 89, the same year that Munch made the pastel drawing on view at MoMA, he made a lithograph o The Scream (g. 4). The work was among his earliest ventures in that medium. Over time he made about thirty Scream lithographs, all with black ink, most on either white or tan paper. A ew were printed on colored paper or were enhanced with watercolor. Meanwhile, Munch had retained or himsel the 89 painted version o The Scream. When he sold it some time ater the turn o the century, he painted another one to take its place in his collection (g. ). 4
4 (above). edvard munch
The Scream. 89.
Lithograph, composition: 5⁄6 × 0" (.4 × 2.4 cm); sheet: 20 ⁄6 × 7" (2. × 40. cm). The Museum o Modern Art, New York. Matthew T. Mellon Fund (opposite). edvard munch
The Scream. 90? Tempera
and oil on cardboard, 2 7 × 2" (8. × cm). Munch Museum, Oslo
2 (opposite). edvard munch
The Scream. 89.
Tempera, oil, pastel, and crayon on cardboard, ⁄6 × 29 5⁄6" (9 × . cm). The National Museum o Art, Architecture, and Design, Oslo 3 (above). edvard munch
The Scream. 89.
Pastel on cardboard, 29 1 × 22" (4 × cm). Munch Museum, Oslo
It is likely that Munch created the work on display at MoMA at the express request o its rst owner, Arthur von Franquet, a businessman in the German city o Braunschweig. He was an early collector o Munch’s work and also owned a lithograph o The Scream. It was not uncommon or Munch to make another version o a picture in order to accommodate a desirous collector; such opportunities t well with his process o working with themes and variations. The 89 pastel Scream and all its relatives constitute a ormidable group o objects. Even so, they do not dene a closed or comprehensive set. The moti had been brewing in Munch’s mind, and on pages and canvases, or at least a year prior to 89. Beore widening the circle o works that surround this Scream, however, let’s turn briefy to Munch’s biography. The
4 (above). edvard munch
The Scream. 89.
Lithograph, composition: 5⁄6 × 0" (.4 × 2.4 cm); sheet: 20 ⁄6 × 7" (2. × 40. cm). The Museum o Modern Art, New York. Matthew T. Mellon Fund (opposite). edvard munch
The Scream. 90? Tempera
and oil on cardboard, 2 7 × 2" (8. × cm). Munch Museum, Oslo
It is likely that Munch created the work on display at MoMA at the express request o its rst owner, Arthur von Franquet, a businessman in the German city o Braunschweig. He was an early collector o Munch’s work and also owned a lithograph o The Scream. It was not uncommon or Munch to make another version o a picture in order to accommodate a desirous collector; such opportunities t well with his process o working with themes and variations. The 89 pastel Scream and all its relatives constitute a ormidable group o objects. Even so, they do not dene a closed or comprehensive set. The moti had been brewing in Munch’s mind, and on pages and canvases, or at least a year prior to 89. Beore widening the circle o works that surround this Scream, however, let’s turn briefy to Munch’s biography. The
Further reading
Clarke, Jay A. Becoming Edvard Munch: Infuence, Anxiety, and Myth. Chicago: The Art Institute o Chicago, and New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2009. Heller, Reinhold. Edvard Munch: The Scream. New York: The Viking Press, 1973. Lampe, Angela and Clément Chéroux. Edvard Munch: The Modern Eye. London: Tate Publishing, 2012. McShine, Kynaston, ed. Edvard Munch: The Modern Lie o the Soul. New York: The Museum o Modern Art, 2006. Prideaux, Sue. Edvard Munch: Behind the Scream . New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2005. Schroeder, Klaus Albert, and Antonia Hoerschelmann, eds. Edvard Munch—Theme and Variation . Vienna: Albertina, and Ostfldern-Ruit: Cantz
Published in conjunction with the presentation o Edvard Munch’s The Scream at The Museum o Modern Art, New York, October 24, 2012–April 29, 2013, organized by Ann Temkin, The Marie-Josée and Henry Kravis Chie Curator, Department o Painting and Sculpture. Produced by the Department o Publications, The Museum o Modern Art, New York Edited by Sarah McFadden Designed by Gina Rossi Production by Matthew Pimm Printed by Meridian Printing, East Greenwich, R.I. This book is typeset in Galaxie Copernicus and Scala Sans. The paper is 100-lb. Unisource Velvet Text. Published by The Museum o Modern Art, 11 W. 53 Street, New York,
PhotograPh Credits
All works by Edvard Munch © Munch Museum/MunchEllingsen Group/ARS, NY 2012. © National Museum o Art, Norway. Photo J. Lathion: fgs. 2, 16. Photo Munch Museum (Andersen/de Jong): fgs. 3, 5, 7, 13. Department o Imaging Services, The Museum o Modern Art, New York. Photo Paige Knight: fg. 4; photo Thomas Griesel: fg. 10; photo John Wronn: fg. 11; photo Mali Olatunji: fg. 14. Thielska Galleriet, Stockholm. Photo Tord Lund: fg. 8. Art Museums o Bergen, Rasmus Meyer collection: fg. 9. Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY: fg. 12.
Further reading
Clarke, Jay A. Becoming Edvard Munch: Infuence, Anxiety, and Myth. Chicago: The Art Institute o Chicago, and New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2009. Heller, Reinhold. Edvard Munch: The Scream. New York: The Viking Press, 1973. Lampe, Angela and Clément Chéroux. Edvard Munch: The Modern Eye. London: Tate Publishing, 2012. McShine, Kynaston, ed. Edvard Munch: The Modern Lie o the Soul. New York: The Museum o Modern Art, 2006. Prideaux, Sue. Edvard Munch: Behind the Scream . New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2005. Schroeder, Klaus Albert, and Antonia Hoerschelmann, eds. Edvard Munch—Theme and Variation . Vienna: Albertina, and Ostfldern-Ruit: Cantz Verlag, 2003. TØjner, Poul Erik. Munch in His Own Words. Munich, Berlin, London, and New York: Prestel Verlag, 2003. Woll, Gerd. Edvard Munch: Complete Paintings . London and New York: Thames & Hudson, 2009. Ydstie, IngebjØrg. The Scream. Oslo: Munch Museum and Bergen: Vigmostad & Bjørke, 2008.
Published in conjunction with the presentation o Edvard Munch’s The Scream at The Museum o Modern Art, New York, October 24, 2012–April 29, 2013, organized by Ann Temkin, The Marie-Josée and Henry Kravis Chie Curator, Department o Painting and Sculpture. Produced by the Department o Publications, The Museum o Modern Art, New York Edited by Sarah McFadden Designed by Gina Rossi Production by Matthew Pimm Printed by Meridian Printing, East Greenwich, R.I. This book is typeset in Galaxie Copernicus and Scala Sans. The paper is 100-lb. Unisource Velvet Text. Published by The Museum o Modern Art, 11 W. 53 Street, New York, New York 10019 © 2012 The Museum o Modern Art ISBN: 978-0-87070-876-3 Library o Congress Control Number: 2012950681 Cover: Edvard Munch. The Scream. 1895. Pastel on paper on cardboard, 32 × 23 " (79 × 59 cm). Private collection Printed in the United States
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Than yu f dwnlading thi peview f
PhotograPh Credits
All works by Edvard Munch © Munch Museum/MunchEllingsen Group/ARS, NY 2012. © National Museum o Art, Norway. Photo J. Lathion: fgs. 2, 16. Photo Munch Museum (Andersen/de Jong): fgs. 3, 5, 7, 13. Department o Imaging Services, The Museum o Modern Art, New York. Photo Paige Knight: fg. 4; photo Thomas Griesel: fg. 10; photo John Wronn: fg. 11; photo Mali Olatunji: fg. 14. Thielska Galleriet, Stockholm. Photo Tord Lund: fg. 8. Art Museums o Bergen, Rasmus Meyer collection: fg. 9. Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY: fg. 12.
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