Mcshine Munch

8/3/2019 Mcshine Munch

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I n t r o d u c t i o n

K y n a s t o n M c S h i n e

Edvard Munc h i s the modern poe t and ph i losoph er in pa in t ing . At the same t ime ,

he is pass iona te ly em ot iona l , pe rhaps mo re so than any o th e r mode rn a r t i s t . The

e x t r e m e s o f j o y a n d p a i n a ll c o m e t o h i m , a n d h u m a n e m o t i o n s a r e p r e s e n t e d i n

h i s work wi th a naked rawness tha t s t i l l s t a r t l e s more tha n a cen tu ry a f t e r h i s

v i s ion was fo rmed . His i con ic cons t ruc t ions dep ic t ing even t s and moods f rom

his own l i f e c rea te inde l ib le images tha t occupy our minds . Munch ' s pa in t ing ,

as in The Dance of Life, encompasses a l i t any o f emot ions tha t cover s l if e f rom

bi r th to dea th . The na r ra t ive o f Munch ' s l i fe and work , roo ted in the n ine te en th

cen tu ry, some how t ran s fo rms , th r oug h h i s own wi l l and fo rce , h i s pe r sona l

exper i ences in to an ex t rao rd in a ry exam ina t ion o f wha t he t e rms " the mod ern

life of the soul"birth, innocence , love , sexua l pass ion , me lancho ly, anger, j ea l

ousy, despa i r, anx ie ty, i l l ness , and dea th . Hi s exp lo ra t ion o f the r ange o f modern

exper i ence in pa lpab le psycho log ica l t e rms re f l ec t s an ex i s t en t i a l ag i t a t ion .

Selected Self-Portraits byEdvard Munch, left to right:1881-82 (plate 1), 1895(P^te37), 1894-98 (plate 36), 1895(plate 32), 1903 (plate 147),1906 (plate 148), 1923-24(Plate 150), 1933-34 (plate153), 1940-42 (plate 155)

Munch ' s ca ree r beg ins in h i s na t ive Norway, f a r f rom the cen te r s o f a r t i s t i c

innova t ion o f h i s t ime ; a s a young a r t i s t i n the 1880s he i s work ing in the aca

d e m i c t r a d i t i o n s o f p o r t r a i t u r e a n d g e n r e p a i n t i n g . H e k n o w s t h e w o r k o f

such French a r t i s t s a s C laude Mone t and P ie r re Puv i s deChavannes, and he

pa in t s you th fu l p i c tu res tha t a re e s sen t i a l ly imi ta t ive o f Impre ss ion i sm ; he

a l so i s s t eeped in the na tu ra l i sm of h i s f i r s t t eacher s , t he genre pa in te r Chr i s t i an

Krohg and the c l a s s i ca l scu lp to r Ju l ius Midde l thun . By the end o f the decade

he i s in Pa r i s wh ere he i s in t rod uced to Sym bol i s t ph i lo sophy an d aes the t i c s ,

and l a t e r in Ber l in he becomes pa r t o f an avan t -ga rde g roup invo lved in thepromot ion o f f r ee love and va r ious types o f mys t i c i sm. Soon h i s pa in t ings

become more express ion i s t i c , t o the degree tha t he even tua l ly can be cons ide red ,

a long wi th Vincen t van Gogh , a s the godfa the r o f Ger ma n Express ion i sm, a s

p rac t i ced by such a r t i s t s a sEmil Nolde and Erns t Ludwig Ki rchner.

Through h i s own pe r sona l complex i ty, f r augh t wi th phys ica l i l l ness and

emot io na l ins t ab i l i ty a s we l l a s t r aum at i c f ami ly losses , he tu rns dec i s ive ly f rom

the cus tomary appearance o f r ea l i ty to the dep ic t ion o f psycho log ica l u rgency.

He b reaks f rom the r ep resen ta t ion o f phys ica l su r faces in to someth ing ha r she r

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and more p ro found , an exp lo ra t ion o f psycho log ica l exper i ence and pass ion tha t

imme dia te ly de mons t r a t e s a modern i ty o f a t t i t ude and tho ugh t . A t the c lose of

his first decade as an artist Munch proclaims that art should be dedicated to human

emot ion : "There shou ld be l iv ing peop le who b rea the and fee l , su ffe r and love . "

His ex t rao rd ina ry se l f -por t r a i t s , wh ich punc tua te h i s en t i r e ca ree r, a ffo rd a

key avenue th rough h i s work , toge the r mak ing up a h i s to ry o f se l f -pe rcep t ion

matched in comple te ness by few o the r a r t i s t s ou t s ide Rem brand t ( see p la t e 143) .

Munch's first Self-Portrait, of 1881-82 (plate 1), is also one of his very first sur

v iv ing pa in t ings ; i t i s on ly the yea rbeforein 1880, at the age of seventeentha t he wr i t e s in h i s d ia ry : " I have in f ac t made up my mind to become a pa in te r. "

From th i s ea r ly work to h i s l a t eSelf-Portrait: Between the Clock and the Bed

(p la t e 155) , o f 1940-42 , when he was in h i s l a t e seven t i e s , Munch thorough ly

char t s bo th h i s inne r and h i s ex te r io r l i fe . These wo rks a re ma rked by sh i f t s in

se l f -p resen ta t ion o ver t ime , f rom the ea r ly, wor ld ly bo hemia n to the da rk , p r i

va te , i n su la t ed modern ex i s t en t i a l man . Munch move s f rom brood ing yo ung

aes the te to v ic t im o f d i sas t rous love a ffa i rs , f rom ex t rover t to in t rover t , t o

lone ly midd le -aged wandere r, t o merc i l e s s obse rve r o f h i s own phys ica l decay.

Now pens ive , now overwrough t , now f ra i l i n the awareness o f i l l ness and o ld

age , he in t ima te ly t r aces h i s eve ry psycho log ica l and phys ica l sh i f t t h rough the

sensitive registers of his expressive shaping of form and flowing of color.

Mun ch l e t s us see in h im a touch o f a r rogance ; in pa in t ings l ike theSelf-

Portrait with Cigarette (1895 ; p la t e 37) , an a i r o f the dandy hangs a round h im.

But wha t sepa ra tes the pa in te r o f modern l i f e f rom the dandy, a s Char l e s Baude

la i r e , who m he adm i red , de f ined i t in "The Pa in te r o f Modern L i fe, " i s the " in sa

t i ab le pass ion . . . fo r see ing and fee l ing , " which e merge s qu ick ly in Mu nch ' s a r t .

He i s ju s t a s f a sc ina ted by h i s ex te r io rsurroundingsby landscap e, by family,

by the eve ryday l i f e o f work ing peop le in c i ty and v i l l age , by the ga the r ings o f

his fellow intellectuals in Norway's capital of Kristiania and in Berlin. He is

aware o f h i s Norweg ian iden t i ty and in f luences , wh ich he conveys th rough

represen ta t ions o f the nor the rn l andscape and the t r ad i t ions o f Scand inav ian

myth o logy as p r ima l fo rces, evok ing such muses o f Nord ic mys t i c i sm as

Mermaid (1896; plate 48), or such evocative scenes asMystery of the Beach

(1892; plate 43) and The Yellow Log (1911-12; plate 112). Yet, at the same time,

he a lways r e tu rns to the pe r sona l in t ens i ty o f h i s expe

r i ences and sensa t ions o f the d rama o f l i f e . H i s images

per s i s t en t ly f luc tua te be tween ou te r invo lvement in the

soc ia l wor ld and in te rna l s i l ence . Cer t a in wo rks sho w

rea l despa i r, be i t ove r the t r i a l s and losses tha t human

re la t ions b r ing , o r the i r r a t iona l bu t abso lu te su ffe r ing

of the inner l ife. In Golgotha (1900; plate 98), for exam

ple , Mun ch ac tua l ly show s h imse l f a s Chr i s t on the

c ross , f ac ing a c rowd, which ee r i ly inc ludes dep ic t ions

Edvard Munch. Kristiania-Boheme 11. 1895. India ink,watercolor,gouache, andpencil on paper,9"/* x 1654"(25 x 41.5 cm). MunchMuseum, Oslo

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Edvard Munch.Ghosts: FamilyScene. 1919. Lithograph withwatercolor additions,comp:16 . 24%" (42.5 62.5 cm).Munch Museum, Oslo

of many o f h i s f r i ends and acqua in tances , peop le he knows pe r sona l ly whom he

cas t s a s unsympa the t i c and ind i ffe ren t , l i ke the mock ing c rowd in James Ensor ' s

Christ's Entry into Brussels in -1889.

Known by some as the "he rmi t o fEkely," Mun ch i s ac tua l ly we l l t r ave led

and cosmo pol i t an in h i s ou t look , and does no t l ead a to t a l ly i so la t ed s tud io ex i s

t ence . He i s ve ry aware o f the work ings o f the wor ld a s a soc ia l communi ty ;

f rom h i s ea r ly days he i s an eager pa r t i c ipan t in the boh emian in te l l ec tua l c i r c l e s

of Kristiania, and until he is in his forties he travels widely in Europe and lives

fo r long pe r iods ab road . He i s in t ima te ly f ami l i a r wi th the cosmopol i t an a r t i s t i c

and l i t e ra ry wor ld cen te red in Ber l in , and o f con te mpor a ry innov a t ion in Pa r i s

(van Gogh and Gaugu in , and l a t e r Mat i s se , s eem presen t in h i s work) ; he i l lu s

t r a t e s books o f poe t ry, des igns p rograms and se t s fo r the s t age , and coun t s

among h i s acqua in tances poe t s and p laywr igh t s , s c i en t i s t s and doc to r s , a s we l l

a s pa in te r s . He i s pa r t o f a v i t a l comm uni ty , in o the rwordsyet in h i s pa in t

ing , even when h e examin es a c rowd, a s inEvening on Karl Johan Street

(1892 ; p la t e 79) , each pe r son seems hau n ted and a lone . The s t r ee t i s peop led by

ominou s , ghos t ly p resences , f aceles s ind iv idua l s . Th i s i s no t the p leasan t c i ty o f

Impress ion i s t pa in t ing , wh ich in f luences Munch ea r ly on ; he focuses on the conf l i c t be tween the ind iv idua l and the t empta t ions and degeneracy o f u rban l i f e

ep i tomized by the c rowd.

Mun ch a l so exp lo res p r iva te pa in and t r auma in an as ton i sh ing ly open man

ner, i n fus ing the un ive r sa l wi th the pe r sona l . H i s many pa in t ings and p r in t s o f

the death of his young sister Sophie or references to the early death of his mother

express themes tha t hau n t h im th rou ghou t h i s l i fe . The dea thbed i s the the me

of seve ra l works , mos t monumenta l lyDeath in the Sick Room (1893; pl a te 87)

an d The Sick Child (1896 ; p la t e s 17 and 18) . The haun te d qua l i ty o f the a r t i s t ' s

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wor ld i s power fu l ly a ppare n t inRed Virginia Creeper (1898-1900; p la t e 94), it s

vacan t ly s t a r ing p ro tagon i s t v i sua l ly ou twe ighed by the b lood- red v ine on the

house beh ind h im, o r, mos t f amous ly, a work o f t en r ega rded as the qu in tes sen

t i a l modern ex i s t en t i a l image ,The Scream (1893 ; p la t e 84) .

T h e c o m p l e x a m b i g u i t y o fMunch's th ink ing emerges even in the theme o f

the windows tha t o f t en appear beh ind o r to the s ide o fhi m in h i s se l f -por t r a i t s .

On t he one hand , the window i s a source of l igh t , bo th ac tua l and a l l egor i ca l ,

ye t on the o the r, t h i s t r anspa ren t sc reen i s in h i s hand s pecu l i a r ly c l aus t roph o

b ic : he t e l l s us tha t the re i s a wor ld be yond , bu t tha t ne i the r h e nor we a re in

i t . He sees h imse l f a s fo remos t a mo ng the doom ed and s i ck , and unab le to ge t

ou t s ide the window in to the l igh t o f the sun , which rep resen t s v i t a l i ty and we l l -

be ing . Obsessed by ind iv idua l su ffe r ing , i t i s a s i f somehow he fo reshadows the

en t i r e mode rn cond i t ion , in f luenc ing a who le th read o f mod ern a r t t h ro ugh

Nolde and Ki rchner to Willem de Koon ing and Jaspe r Johns .

Mun ch ' s por t r a i t s o f ch i ld ren p rov e to be some o f h i s mos t cha r ming and

sen t im en ta l imag es (p la t e s 103 and 104). Never th e les s , du r ing the same yea r s

tha t he i s desc r ib ing s l edd ing in the snow (p la t e 109) , o r v i l l age r s wa tch ing a

ga l lop ing ho rse (p la t e 110) , he is a l so pa in t in g scenes o f d iu rna l t r age dy such as

The Drowned Boy, Warnemiinde (1908; plate 108) or The Coffin Is Carried Out

(1904 ; p la t e 106) . As T. S . E lio t wr i t e s o f the p lay wr igh t John We bs te r : Mu nch

"saw the sku l l benea th the sk in . " Th i s f a t e fu l thea te r i s enac ted in the mos t l i t

e ra l way in Four Ages of Life (1902 ; p la t e 105) , wh ich s t ages the span o fwom an ' s l i f e in a s ingu la r image : youn g g i r l , you ng w oma n , fu l l adu l t , o ld age .

There i s a l so gen t l eness and p leasure , pass ion and joy in Munc h , a lbe i t o f t en

mi t iga ted by the overa l lmelancholia and dua l i ty he sees in l i f e . For example , h i s

mura l s fo r the Fes t iva l Ha l l a t t he Roya l F rede r iks Unive r s i ty (now the Unive r

s i ty o f Os lo ) express a hea l ing pow er in na tu re and a va lue in the c on t inu i ty

among genera t ions , th rough the cen t ra l pa in t ing o f the sun (p la t e s 117-127) .

Th i s op t imism can a l so be seen in Munch ' s pa in t ings o f nude ba the r s , who ce le

b ra te the l i f e -g iv ing sun as pa r t o f the Nie tzschea n v i t a l i s t ph i loso phy popu la r

a t the t ime .

In in t im a te r e l a t ions , Munc h i s aware o f the t ens ion be tw een rom ant i c and

ero t i c t i e s, and he has a f r augh t sense o f the in te rp lay o f vu lne rab i l i ty and p ower

in huma n connec t io n . Hi s a r t deepen s th rough i l lness (h i s own and o the r peop le ' s ) , l o s s , and the anx ie ty o f f ami ly d ramas . Some pa in t ings a re thea t r i ca l in

the i r p l acement o f f igu res : the t ens ions among the cha rac te r s , t he i r l ack o f com

munica t ion , seem to r e f l ec t the d ramas o f Henr ik Ibsen . Somet imes , too , the re

i s a symbol i c abs t r ac t ion o f ind iv idua l s tha t aga in r eca l l s thea t r i ca l a rche types .

Ma ny o f Munc h ' s pa in t ings , a s we l l a s h i s innova t ive l i thogra phs , e t ch ings ,

and woodcu t s , a re exh ib i t ed , in an eve r chang ing bu tthematically cons i s t en t

se t o f images tha t compr i se wha t can be t e rmed h i s ove ra l l s t a t emen t , t heFrieze

of Life. Th i s i s fi r st exh ib i t ed in a new ly am bi t ious fo rm a t the 1902 Ber l in

Edvard Munch.Seated Nude.1896. Pastel, watcrcolor, andpencil on paper,24/5 x iS>A"(62 x 47.7 cm). MunchMuseum, Oslo

Secess ion , and inc ludes many o f h i s bes t -known works , such mot i f s suchas th e

Mad onna and the Vampi re , Puber ty, The Kiss , and Melanch o ly, and mos t i mpo r

tan t ly a wo rk he ca l l edMetabolism, which dep ic t s the en t i r e l i f e cyc le : l i f e

becom ing dea th , and de a th , in tu rn , nour i sh ing l i f e (p la t e 96) . It is a ma jo r pa r t

o f h i s ambi t ion to show a l l t he s t ages o f l i f e and to show the wor ld a s one sp i r i

tua l ly connec ted sys tem. In ce r t a in themat i ca l ly comp rehens iv e p ic tu res , Mu nch

encom passes a l i f e span o f na ive te , e ro t i c t ens ion , and inev i t ab le dec l ine : amo ng

these a re a newl y d i scovered work tha t was long h idden beh ind ano the r c anvas ,

Young Girl with Three Male Heads (c . 1898 ; p la t e 46), and in one o f Mun ch ' s

g rea tes t works , The Dance of Life (1899-190 0 ; p la t e 100) , wh ich evoke s the

moonl i t summer n igh t s o f the nor th , the pass ions o f love r s , and peop le en joy ing

th e shorebut a l so fo re te l l s the i r f r ag i l e and t r ag ic fu tu res . The mutab leFrieze

of Life a long wi th Mun ch ' s ma ny o the r r e l a t ed pa in t ings and the l a rge body o f

g raph ic work as su re h im an es sen t i a l and even fundam enta l p l ace in the canon

of mod ern a r t .

M u n c h ' s s t a t e m e n t "\ do no t pa in t wha t I s ee bu t wha t I s aw" sugg es t s

tha t he unders t ands h i s work as the p roduc t no t o f an empi r i ca l , obse rva t iona l

p rocess bu t o f the cumula t ive emot ion o f the mind ' s eye . In ten t iona l ly and con

sc ious ly, be tw een see ing so meth ing in the wor ld and rea l i z ing i t i n pa in t , he

passes i t t h rou gh a men ta l f il t e r f rom which i t l a t e r emerg es t r ans fo rm ed in the

i n t e n s i t y o f t h e r e m e m b e r e d m o m e n t . L i k e v a n G o g h a n d G a u g u i n b e f o r e h i m

and the Express ion i s t s a f t e r h im, Munch o f t en uses co lo r no t fo r na tu ra l i s t i cdesc r ip t ion bu t to convey au then t i c i ty o f f ee l ing . Meanwhi le h i s loose , f lowing

brushs t rokes shape f igures whose con tours pu l sa te wi th l ines and movements in

the scene su r roun d ing th em. Und ers t an d ing the wor ld a s a p lace o f ag i t a t ion a nd

s t re s s , Mu nch m akes tha t v i s ion l i t e ra l ; t he emot iona l s t a t e s tha t conce rn Mun ch

are o f t en disruptiveanxiety, j ealousybut he a l so knows qu ie te r moods , l i ke

melancho ly, lone l iness , o r, more pos i t ive ly, the sha red so l i tude o f love r s , a s in

The Kiss (1897 ; p la t e 51) , where the coup le seem to me l t in to each o the r in an

e rasu re o f the i r sepa ra te iden t i t i e s .

The un ique ly modern anx ie ty o f iden t i ty c rys ta l l i zes in the lone ly f igure on

the road a long the f jo rd inDespair (1892 ; p la t e 83) and then in the pa in t in g tha t

immedia te ly g rew ou t o f i t ,The Scream (1893 ; p la t e 84) . Ove r the pas t ce n tu ry

the l a t t e r image has become a r emark ab le i con , f ami l i a r eve rywh ere , co mm uni

ca t ing so s t rong ly and so un ive r sa l ly jus t because i t i s so deep ly pe r sona l . The wi ld

red sky i s a co r re l a t ive o f the f igure ' s emot ion s : hope lessness and pan ic . The

" loud , unend ing sc ream p ie rc ing na t u re" conf ron t s us wi th the f r igh t fu l poss i

b i l i t i e s of the mo dern se l f. The sku l l - l ikeheada m e m e n t o morilooks ou t a t

us , engag ing our a t t en t ion , and invokes a s ingu la r emot io n o f modern i ty . I t i s

Mun ch ' s g rea t t r i um ph tha t in so many w orks he i s ab le to p ic to r i a l i ze an ex

t rao rd ina ry r a nge o f in t ense hu ma n pass ion and in so do ing de l inea te the l i f e

o f the modern sou l .

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C o u l d O n l y H a v e B e e n P a i n t e d b y a

M a d m a n ' O r C o u l d It?

R e i n h o l d H e l l e r

Ljabroveien, the road betweenKristiania and Nordstrand, atEkeberg Heights, Kristiania,c. 1870

I f you look ca re fu l ly a t the cen t ra l r ed s t r eak in the sky o f wha t i s p robab ly the

f i r s t pa in ted ve r s ion o f Edvard Munch ' s mos t f amous image ,The Scream (1893 ;

p la t e 84) , now in the co l l ec t ion o f the Na t iona l Ga l l e ry in Os lo , you wi l l f ind ,

sc ra tched in penc i l , t he handw r i t t en com men t :"Kan kun vsere malt af en gal

mand! (Cou ld on ly have been pa in ted by a madm an! ) " ( f igu re 1) .1 There i s some

ques t ion as to whe the r the handwr i t ing i s Munch ' s own o r i f a v i s i to r to one o f

Munch ' s exh ib i t ions in the 1890s o r ea r ly1900s le f t t he insc r ip t ion .2 Far more

s ign i f i can t than the i s sue o f g ra ffi t i au th orsh ip , how ever, i s the ve ry f ac t o f the

insc r ip t ion ' s con t inued ex i s t ence . For us, t oday, to whomThe Scream h a s b e c o m e

a much- rep l i ca ted popu la r i con , i t i s f a r more r evea l ing tha t Mun ch n ever

a t t em pted to r emov e th i s penc i l ed g ra ffi to f rom h i s mos t ce leb ra ted pa in t ing ,

a l though he cou ld eas i ly have e rased i t o r pa in ted over i t . Ins t ead , he l e f t i t a s

an apparen t ly de s i r ed fina l comm enta ry , a s a t ex tua l conf i rma t ion o f the au then

t i c i ty o f the s t a t e o f mind th e image se ems to p ro jec t . I t i s a s if Mun ch a l lowed

a s ign , a lbe i t a sub t l e and no t imm edia te ly v i s ib le one , to be pos ted wi th each

d i sp lay o f The Scream, proc la iming : "Mad Ar t i s t a t Work . "

S ince Mu nch rep ea ted ly de fended h imse l f aga ins t cha rges o f insan i ty and

menta l i l l ness , e spec ia l ly dur ing the 1890s and ea r ly 1900s , bu t a l so the rea f t e r,3

whi le a t t he same t ime fea r ing tha t he was gene t i ca l ly marked p rec i se ly by

these ,4 i t s eems incongruous tha t he would l e tstandindeed, endorsejust

such a cha rge in r ega rd to the image th a t , more th an any o th e r by h im, i s con

s ide red to embody a s t a t e o f ex t reme psycho log ica l d i s tu rbance .If w e a s s u m e

tha t he would have wished to c rea te a ce r t a in d i s t ance be tween h imse l f and the

d i s to r t ed conf igura t ions and co lo ra t ions o fThe Scream in order to affirm his

"hea l thy" psyche , we mus t a l so a sk ourse lves abou t the mean ing o f h i s ins i s

t ence on exac t ly the oppos i t e , on the conf luence o f h i s pe r son , h i s psycho log ica l

o r men ta l s t a t e , and the image he p roduced . Why m us t the a r t i s t be a "ma d

man ," and how does th i s equa t ion o f a r t i s t and image a ffec t ou r unders t and ing

of The Scream and o f Munc h ' s a r t i n genera l? Or, a l t e rna t ive ly, is the t r ansp a r

en t ly symbio t i c r e l a t ionsh ip be tween Mu nch ' s b iograp hy and h i s imagery , con

f i rmed by v i r tu a l ly a l l c r i t ica l and a r t h i s to r i ca l ev a lua t ions o f h i s a r t t oday, a

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consc ious ly gene ra t ed cons t ruc t , a t l e a s t pa r t i a l l y manufac tu red o r endor sed by

Mu nch h imse l f ; and how has t h i s i n f luenced the c r i ti ca l eva lua t ion o f h i s a r t ?

Would i t be useful for us to try to separate, or at least isolate, Munch's imagery

f rom h i s pe r sona l i t y an d l i f e s to ry, and fo r u s t o v i ew the m as pa ra l l e l r a the r

than a s i nex t r i cab ly in t e r tw ined , t he one depend en t on the o the r? Has b iog ra

phy eclipsed the wo rk i tself? If so, how and w hy did this ha ppe n?

To addres s such ques t ions , I f ir s t wan t t o r ev i ew and r e -exami ne the genes i s o f

Munch ' s image o f The Scream and i t s r e l a t i on to h i s b iog raphy and psycho log i

ca l li f e. Tha t such a l i nk ex i s ts s eems un den iab le ; a l l s t ud ie s and co mmen ta r i e s

on Mun ch ' s a r t pos i t it , and M unch ' s o wn comm ent s s eem to con f i rm i t , a s does

the penc i l ed in sc r ip t ion sc ra t ched on to the 1893 pa in t ing . None the l e s s , I wan t t o

ask how accu ra t e and s ign i f i can t t h i s a r t -h i s to r i ca l l i nkage i s : how was i t con

s t ruc t ed , and wha t does i t s i gn i fy beyond the poss ib i l i t y o f a s imp le e qua t ion?

Mun ch h imse l f i s p r imar i ly r e spo ns ib l e fo r t he pe rcep t ion o f an ove r l ap o f

the image and the b iog raphy. S ince the ve ry f i r s t concep t ions t ha t led to The

Scream, he in s i s t ed tha t wha t he dep ic t ed was h i s own expe r i ence , and tha t i t

r ep re sen ted h i s own psycho log ica l s t a t e o f despa i r and anx ie ty, bo rde r ing , so he

felt , on insanity. Even as he made the first sketch of the motif in a sketchbook,

late in 1891 or early in 1892 ( f i gu re 2 ) , Mun ch s imu l t aneou s ly wro te abou t i t s

o r ig ins i n h i s pe r sona l expe r i ence , much a s i f he f e l t t ha t t he p i c to r i a l image was

incomple t e and r equ i r ed a ve rba l accompan imen t o r exp lana t ion : " I was wa lk ing

along the road with tw o friends. The sun set . I fel t a t inge of mela ncholy . Sud

den ly th e sky became a b loody r ed . I s t opped , l eaned aga ins t t he r a i l i ng , dead

tired [my friends looked at me and walked on] and I looked at the flaming clouds

tha t h ung l i ke b lood and a sword [ove r t he f j ord and c i ty ] ove r t he b lue -b l ack

f jord and c i ty. My f r i ends w a lked on . I s t ood the re , t r embl in g wi th f r i gh t . An d

I fe l t a l oud , unend ing sc ream p ie rc ing na tu re / '5

The text is dated "Nice, January 22, 1892." Despite the specifici ty of date

and place, this is not a diary entry, as is often stated. 6 At least , if the visual set

t ing along the Krist iania Fjord depicted in the images ofThe Scream is to be

be l i eved , t he t ex t wr i t t en in N ice r eco rds an even t t ha t t ook p l ace p rev ious ly,

wh i l e Munch was in Norway.7 In s t ead o f t he immed ia t e r eco rd o f an even t ,

Figure 1. Edvard Munch.Detail of The Scream, 1893.tempera and oil on cardboard.The National Museum of Art,Architecture, and Design/National Gallery, Oslo (seeplate 84), showing the penciled graffito written on thecanvas:Kan kun veere mallal en gal maud!

18

Figure 2. Edvard Munch.Despair (from Ljabrochausse).1891-92. Pencil on paper.Munch Museum, Oslo

such a s a d i a ry conce rned wi th t he p re sen t mig h t con ta in , t h i s i s a r em

in i scence . Bu t i t i s no t a r emin i scence qu ick ly jo t t ed down w i th l i t t le

p r io r t hough t ; t ex tua l changes in j ec t t he v i sua l ly emot ive qua l i t y o f

color, and extraneous detail is eliminatedWhere did this take place?

When? Who was invo lved? Wha t l ed up to t he expe r i ence? Munch

uses a ca re fu l s t acca to rhy t hm as he sk i l l fu lly, cumula t iv e ly l i s t s even t s ,

mov ing f rom conc i se r eco rds o f mundane ac t ions (wa lk ing ) and eve ry

day occu r rences ( t he sun se t t i ng ) t o t he unexpec ted and sudden cu lmi

na t ion o f t he " s c ream p ie rc ing na tu re . " A l l o f t hese a r e i nd i ca t ive o fnuanced,t hough t fu l wr i t i ng such a s migh t r e su l t a f t e r s eve ra l p r io r d ra f t s o f t he t ex t

(none exist) or a process of mental edit ing to dist i l l the experience to i ts most

effective verbal formulation. I t was writ ten less for the benefit of the author, as

a d i a ry migh t be t o r eco rd even t s and keep memor ie s a l i ve , t han fo r t he bene f i t

o f an aud ience tha t cou ld , t h rough man ipu la t ion o f t he t ex t , r e - expe r i enceem-

pathetically, or at least recognize, the full power of the original psychological

expe r i ence and come to t e rms w i th t he a r t i nvo lved . Verba l ly sugges t ive and

emot ive , Mun ch ' s b r i e f t ex t i s a p rose poem. I t f o l lows in i t s fo rm con te mpora ry

Symbol i s t and "decaden t " l i t e r a ry p rac t i ce , such a s t ha t wh ich young Norweg ian

poets adapted and practiced then as well .8

II.

Thro ugho u t h i s ca ree r, Munch comp lemen te d h i s work in t he v i sua l a r t s w i th

va r i ed l i t e r a ry p ro j ec ts . Am ong thes e a r e f r agmen t s , neve r pub l i shed and nev e r

announ ced by h im pub l i c ly, o f a p ro jec t fo r a p seudoau to b iog raph ica l nove l l a ,

roo ted in h i s romance wi th Milly Ihlen T h a u l o w d u r i n g t h e mid-i88os. Fic t ion

a l i zed as "Mrs . He ibe rg" by Mu nch ( a t t he t ime , she was mar r i ed to C ap ta in

Car l Thau low, b ro th e r o f t he pa in t e r F r i t s Tha u low and a cous in to Mu nch h im

self) , she later was divorced, had a brief actin g and sin ging career, and mar ried

the ac to r Ludv ig Bergh. y In 1890, Mun ch desc r ibed he r a s t he woman who

to t a l ly t r ans fo rmed h i s a t t i t ude toward l i f e , i t s fo rces , and i t s mean ing :

What a deep mark she has left on my mind, so deep that no other image can ever totally drive

it away. Was it because she was so much prettier than the others? No, I do not even know if she

was pretty; her mouth was large. She could seem repulsive. The other one, tall and pale, was far

more attractive, with her dazzling young skin, her blond hair that a slight breeze blew over hereyes, and her eyes that were so full of loyalty. . . . Was it because we shared the same opinions?

We did not really know each other. And yetWas it because she took my first kiss, that she took

the sweetness of life from me? Was it because she lied, deceived, that one day she took the scales

from my eyes so that I saw Medusa's head, saw life as a great horror? And everything that previ

ously I had seen in a ruse-colored mist now seemed empty and grey tome?

High ly d rama t i c i n i t s p re sen ta t ion , s e l f - consc ious ly l i t e r a ry wi th i t s s e l f -

ques t ion ing and euphemis t i c r e f e rences , t he cha rac t e r i za t ion o f "Mrs . He ibe rg"

cas t s Munch in a pas s ive and na ive ro l e .Heor, more accu ra t e ly, t he male

'9


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n a r r a t o r a n d p r o t a g o n i s t s u r e l y m o d e l e d o n M u n c hhimselfappears as a victim

depr ived o f h i s ch i ld l ike innocence and na ive te in o the r t ex t s a s we l l , wh ich con

s t ruc t i so la t ed scenes f rom the i l l i c i t romanc e . Depr ived o f na r ra t ive cons i s t ency,

the d i sconnec ted semi f i c t iona l t ex t f r agments sha re a focus on the na r ra to r ' s ex

t rem e moods and emot ions , wh ich swing be tween the e l a t ion o f sexua l in i t i a t ion

to the deb i l i t a t ing despa i r o f j ea lou sy in r e sponse to the va r i ed p rovoca t ion s

offe red by "Mrs . He ibe rg . " For example , he desc r ibes an encoun te r wi th he r on

Kr i s t i an ia ' s ma in thorough fa re , Kar l Johan S t ree t , one a f t e rnoon :

And then finally she came. He felt long before that she had to come. .. . He saw only her pale,

slightly plump face, horribly pale in the yellow reflections from the horizon and against the blue

[sky] behind her. Never before had he seen her so beautiful. How lovely was the bearing of her

head, a bit sorrowful. She greeted him with a weak smile and went on. .. . He felt so empty and

alon e... . He worked himself into a frenzy. Suddenly everything seemed strangely quiet. The noise

from the street seemed far away, as if coming from somewhere up above. He no longer felt his legs.

They no longer wanted to carry him. All the people walking by looked so strange and odd, and he

felt as if they were all staring at him, all these faces pale in the evening light."

M u n c h ' s c o n c e rn w i t h r e n d e r i n g w h a t i s f u n d a m e n t a l l y a p a t h o l o g y o f e m o

t iona l , quas ipsycho t i c r e sponses to even t s and exper i ences , a s we l l a s the t e r se

economy of h i s desc r ip t ion , have s t rong k insh ip wi th the in t rospec t ive con ten t

a n d t h e t e c h n i q u e e m p l o y e d b y t h e N o r w e g i a n a u t h o r K n u t H a m s u n i n h i s

p r e m i e r n o v e l Hunger, first serialized in 1888 . Wh i le p reced en t s fo r f i c t iona l i zed

semiau to b iograph ica l wr i t ings , o f t en in a d ia ry l ike r ender ing , abound du r ing

t h e n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y, b o t h M u n c h a n d H a m s u n h a d a s th e i m m e d i a t e p r e c u r

so r fo r the i r l i t e ra ry fo rm, Hans Jaeger, t he cha r i smat i c l eade r o f the Kr i s t i an ia

Bohem e. A loose co l l ec t ion of exper imen ta l Norw eg ian w r i t e r s andartists

M u n c h a m o n g themof the 1880s , the Bohem e was un i t ed th roug h the pe r

sona l cha r i sma o f Jaeger and by h i s ideo logy o f Utop ian ana rch i sm, f r ee love ,

and the r e j ec t ion o f bourge o i s Chr i s t i an m ora l i ty a s i t s p r im arytenets. 12 In h i s

l e n g t h y b o o k Fra Kristiania Bohemen (From Kristiania Bohemia) (1885) and

in shor t e r semiau to b iograp h ica l nove l l a s dur ing the 1880s , Jaeger e s tab l i shed

the con t rover s i a l p ro to types fo r the f i c t iona l i zed , au tob iograph ica l wr i t ing tha t

H a m s u n a n d M u n c h e m u l a t e d i n i n v e r s e v e r s i o n s o f aBildungsroman, t r a c k i n g

no t the educa t ion and matu ra t ion o f an ind iv idua l bu t , r a the r, h i s decons t ruc -

t ion , h i s p rogress ive psycho log ica l d i s in teg ra t ion .

III .

Munch ' s p ro jec ted nove l l a was never comple ted and remained sca t t e red t ex tua l

f r agments , some rev i sed seve ra l t imes , in va r ious no tebooks , somet imes accom

pan ied by d raw ings v i sua l i z in g a scene tha t l a t e r se rved as the bas i s fo r a pa in t

ing . The d raw ing assoc ia t ed wi th the accoun t o f Munc h ' s sea rch fo r"Mrs.

He ibe rg" among passe r sby on Kar l Johan S t ree t , fo r example , was t r ans la t ed

by h im in to the pa in t ing Evening on Karl Johan Street in 1892 (plate 79); in

20

t he p rocess , t he b iograph ica l inc iden ta l s o f the d rawn scene and the t ex t s were

la rge ly suppressed o r e l imina ted .

I t i s t empt ing to seeThe Scream, too , in the con tex t o f th i s f r agmented

nar ra t ive o f f a i l ed , d i s tu rbed love , sexua l t ens ion , and in f ide l i ty. Moreover, t he re

i s s ign i f i can t jus ti f i ca t ion fo r do ing so . Wh en M unc h f i r s t exh ib i t ed the pa in t ing

in Ber l in in 1893 , under the t i t l eDespair, i t was the conc lud ing image o f the

s ix -pa in t ing s tudy fo r the Love se r i e s tha t t r aced the r e l a t ionsh ip o f woman

and man f rom f i r s t a t t r ac t ion th roug h sexua l fu l f i l lmen t , j ea lousy, and desp a i r /3

a t h e m a t i c d e v e l o p m e n t c l e a r l y r o o t e d in t h e " M r s . H e i b e r g " n a r r a t i v e b u t

muta ted f rom the spec if i c s o f i t i n to a un ive r sa l comm enta ry on the na t u re o f

love itself . The Scream rema ined con s tan t a s a cen t ra l mot i f the rea f t e r, wh i l e

Mu nch co n t inu ous ly exp anded and a l t e red the se r i e s , sh i f t ed the o rde r o f the

pa in t ings , in t roduced new mot i f s o r va r i a t ions on p r io r ones , and a l so se t t l ed

on ca l l ing i t t he Frieze of Life.14 N o n e t h e l e s s , t h e l i n k a ge t o M u n c h ' s " M r s . H e i

be rg" na r ra t ive , whe the r h i s own exper i ence o r poe t i ca l ly t r ans fo rmed , may be

too read i ly d rawn , and be a t e s t imony more to the na r ra t ive cohes ion o f Munch ' s

Frieze of Life than to any o r ig ina l p l acement wi th in h i s s to ry o f a "pe rve r se

love , " to bor row the t i t l e o f one o f Jaeger ' s nove l s .

Am ong the no tebo oks in which Mu nch w ro te h i s d ra f t s fo r the "Mrs . He i

be rg" nove l l a , an accoun t o f the exper i ence o fThe Scream, such as is described

in the t ex t o f January 22 , 1892 , i s no t inc lude d . At no t ime does th i s pa r t i cu la r

exper i ence en te r in to the na r ra t ive t ex t tha t Munch was pa tch ing toge the r ind i spa ra te f r agme nta ry scenes . Ins t ead , the January 1892 t ex t r emained i so la t ed ,

ne i the r con nec ted no r ove r t ly r e l a t ed to o the r t ex t s in o rde r to jo in in a s to ry o f

an i l l ic i t roman t i c l i a i son and i t s t r aum at i c psycho log ica l r e su l t s . A t no po in t i s a

connec t ion d rawn to "Mrs . He ibe rg" o r the r e l a t ionsh ip o f the na r ra to r to he r a s

a cause o r a pa r t i c ipan t in the sunse t scene . Lack ing t ex tua l na r ra t ive con tex t , i t

i s a sing le , l one exper i ence conde nsed in to the evoca t ive fo rm at o f a p rose poem,

a imed mo re a t enge nder i ng a moo d in a r eade r than a t enume ra t in g the de ta i l s

o r causes o f an even t a s soc ia t ed wi th o the r s in a nove l l a .

Th i s i s o f more than inc iden ta l s ign i fi cance . In 1892 Munch was work in g l e s s

on the "Mrs . He ibe r g" nove l l a than on a num ber o f such p rose poem s tha t syn

thes ize and concen t ra t e exper i ences in to shor t emot iv e ve rba l images . As wi th the

first Scream tex t , t hey accen t the v i sua l , no t the na r ra t ive . Indeed , Munch l inked

them wi th l a rge d rawings ; o f t en he wro te them on a shee t o f paper nex t to o r

unde r a r e l a t ed p ic tu re . A va r i an t onThe Scream tex t , t hus , appea r s d i r ec t ly nex t

to a cha rcoa l d rawing o f the scene ,Despair (1891-92 ; p la t e 82) , t he sky accen ted

wi th s l a sh ing swa tches o f deep red gouach e th ick ly app l ied wi thou t mo du la t ion

or shad ing to p rov ide the v i sua l equ iva len t o f the " sc ream p ie rc ingnature." 15

P r e c i se l y w h a t M u n c h i n t e n d e d t o d o w i t h t h e se i m a g e - t e x t c o m b i n a t i o n s

i s no t c l ea r. He was p la nn ing , a t t he t ime , to i l l u s t r a t e co l l ec t ions o f poe t ry by

t h e D a n i s h p o e t E m a n u e l G o l d s t e i n a n d t h e N o r w e g i a n p o e t sVilhelm Krag and

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Sigbjorn Obs t fe lde r, and seve ra l su i t ab le v igne t t e l ike d rawings fo r these appea r

in h i s ske tchbooks , inc lud ing two smal l r end i t ions o f the Despa i r /Sc ream mot i f

(figure 3). 16 N e i t h e r t h e sketchbook v igne t t e s nor the l a rge r d rawings , wi th the i r

d i ff i cu l t - to - read ha ndw r i t t en t ex t s , o ft en wi th words sc ra tched ou t o r wr i t t en

over, a re o f a qua l i ty o r degree o f f in i sh tha t wou ld make them su i t ab le fo r pub

l i ca t ion us ing the r ep roduc t ive t e chn iqu es o f the 1890s , howeve r, and they were

drawn be fo re Mu nch began ma k ing h i s own p r in t s . Wi th h i s own p rose poems

appended , the d rawings c l ea r ly ceased to be appropr ia t e i l l u s t r a t ions fo r the

poe t ry o f h i s f ri ends . I t i s improb ab le tha t , w i th the i r r ough ly wr i t t en t ex t s and

cor rec t ions , he would have cons ide red them su i t ab le fo r exh ib i t ion e i the r. I

be l i eve i t is mos t l ike ly tha t M unch ' s d rawin gs r ep res en t a p ro jec t fo r a co l lec

t ion o f h i s own images and p rose poems mode led on the books fo r which he was

asked to p rov ide v igne t t e s . He d id no t r ea l i ze such a p ro jec t then , however, j u s t

a s he never comple ted the d rawings fo r the poe t ry o f Golds te in , Krag , and Obs t

fe lde r. I t i s even mo re s ign i f i can t fo r Munch ' s own de ve lop ment a s an a r t i s t ,

moreover, t ha t these t ex t -a s soc ia t ed d rawings became the bas i s fo r pa in t ings in

1891-92 and the rea f t e r, bu t thetextsother t h a n t h e tit leswere e l imina ted sotha t the images were made to s t and on the i r own , us ing on ly the power o f the i r

p ic to r i a l qua l i t i e s and the na r ra t iv e sequence in whic h Mun ch mig h t d i sp lay

the m to comm unica te the i r con te n t to the i r aud iences .

IV.

I f the r eco l l ec t ions of the Norweg ia n pa in te r Chr i s t i an Skredsv ig , who acc ompa

n ied Munch dur ing h i s s t ay in Nice in the win te r o f 1891-92 , a re r e l i ab le , f rom

Figure 3.Edvard Munch. TwoVignettes (Despair). 1891-92.Pen and india ink on paper.Munch Museum, Oslo

the t ime Munch f i r s t began work on th i s image , i t was r ecogn ized as be ing in

some fash ion au tob iogra ph ica l , a s r ep res en t ing a pe r sona l exper i ence :"For s o m e

t ime Mun ch had been wan t ing to pa in t the me mo ry o f a sunse t . Red as b lood .

No , i t ac tua l ly was coagu la ted b lood . Bu t no t a s ing le o the r pe r son would see i t

the same way as he had ; they would a l l s ee no th ing bu t c louds . He t a lked h im

se l f s i ck abou t tha t sunse t and abou t how i t fi l led h im wi th g re a t anx ie ty. He

was in despa i r because the mise rab le means ava i l ab le to pa in t ing never wen t

fa r enough . 'H e i s t ry ing to do wha t i s imposs ib le , and h i s r e l ig ion i sdespair,' I

t hough t to myse l f , bu t s t i l l adv i sed h im to pa in titand t h a t w a s h o w h e c a m e

to pa in t h i s r emarkab le Scream."'17

Skredsv ig cas t h imse l f in the he ro ic ro le o f a r t i s t -midwi fe who a ided Munch

in r ea l i z ing , o r g iv ing b i r th to , h i s mos t no tab le pa in t ing even as Munch h im

se l f, deep ly desp onden t , w as p repa red to g ive up in h i s e ffo rt s . Essen t i a l ly,

Skredsv ig self-servingly desc r ibes h imse l f a s hav in g saved Mu nch ( the y oung ,

unce r t a in , s t il l emerg ing a r t i s t o f 1892) f rom h imse l f ( the despa i r ing ind iv idua l )

to enab le h im to become Mu nch ( th e ce leb ra ted a r t i s t o fThe Scream). W h e t h e r

o r no t th i s g rand h i s to r i ca l in t e rven t ion i s fu l ly accura te , i t o ffe r s two s ign i f i can t

ins igh t s in to Mu nch ' s image . F ir s t , l i ke Mu nch h im se l f , Skredsv ig a s se r t s tha t

wha t i s dep ic ted co r respon ds to Munch ' s pe r sona l exper i enc e o f a sunse t . Th e

e thos o f r ea l i s t -n a tu ra l i sm i s a t p l ay he re , wh ich dema nded th a t the a r t i s t r ep re

sen t on ly the r ea lm of v i s ib le ob jec t s a s exper i enced by h im and to which Skreds

v ig h imse l f adhered .18

More in te res t ing and revea l ing , however, i s tha t Skredsv igrecogn ized the source o f Munch ' s anx ie ty and despa i r, no t in the sunse t mot i f o f

the image nor in h i s r e sponse to the sunse t wi th r ed sk ies o f coagu la ted b lood ,

however t r aumat i c such an exper i ence may have been , bu t , r a the r, i n the inab i l

i ty to t r ansmi t v i sua l ly to a v iewer p rec i se ly the e ffec t o f such an exper i en ce . A

pa in t ing o f a sunse t f a i th fu l ly r endered cou ld be seen by i t s v i ewers on ly a s a

co l l ec t ion o f co lo red c louds , more o r l e s s d ramat i c depend ing on the i r conf igura

t ion and the e ffec t s o f r e f l ec ted and re f rac ted l igh t f rom the se t t ing sun . The

techn ica l pa in te r ly means tha t na tu ra l i sm, r ea l i sm, and Impress ion i sm made

ava i l ab le to h im"the mise rab le means ava i l ab le topainting"were insuff i

c i en t fo r Mun ch to r ender a comp rehens ib le image , Skredsv ig ind ica tes . Indeed ,

Skredsv ig h imse l f cons ide red the obs tac les to the t a sk to be insu rmountab le .

Munch ' s in i t i a l pa in t ing o f h i s sunse t sc ream,Despair (1892; plate 83),

p robab ly pa in ted wh i l e Skredsv ig was in Nice wi th h im, se rves a lmos t a s an

i l lus t r a t ion o f th i s con ten t ion . As bas ic s ty l i s t i c t echn ique , Mun ch s ign i f i can t ly

modi f i ed Impress ion i sm ' s d iv ided b rushs t ro kes , us ing them no t on ly to r ender

tona l i t i e s o f l igh t bu t a l so to congrega te in to d i r ec t iona l f i e lds , a s in the pe r spec -

tival d iagona l o f the r a i l ing ,andin one o f h i s ea r l i e s t e ffo r t s to app ly the s ty

l i s t ic p r inc ip les of Pau l Gaugu in and h i s Syn th e t i s tfollowersinto ou t l ines o f

f igures and l andscape fo rms in the pa in t ing . The genera l b lue -g reen tona l i ty

o f the l andscape and the shadowy f igures on the road co r respond to the p rac t i ce

22 23


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of James McNei l l Whis t l e r ' s Noc tu rnes , wh i l e ma in t a in ing ove r t l inkage to the

a tmo spher i c co lo r exper i enced a t dusk . The lu r id ly co lo red red and ye l low sky

appear s in co lo r i s t i c con t ras t , pa in ted l ike the l andscape in ex tended , b lend ing

s t rokes o f the b rush so a s to r ender the i l lu s ion o f c louds s t r eaked ac ross a sky.

And the re in l i e s the p rob lem, a s r ecogn ized by Skredsv ig : the c louds appea r a s

rend i t ion s o f c louds , no ma t t e r how in tense the i r co lo r ( a l though they migh t

a l so be r ead , o f course , a s a chaos o f s t r eaked o i l pa in t ) . Even w hen v iewed in

assoc ia t ion wi th the fo reground f igure tu rned toward the r a i l ing and the sky l ine

of the c i ty be low, they do no t r ender the "g rea t anx ie ty" tha t saw "coagu la ted

b lood" o r tha t , i n Munch ' s poe t i c i zed reco l l ec t ion , pa r t i c ipa ted in the " sc ream

pie rc ing na tu re . " In o rde r to comm unica te th i s , Mu nch reso r t ed to words .

The Scream prose poem was an admiss ion o f inadequacy and fa i lu re . On ly

t h r o u g h i t c o u l d M u n c h t r a n s f o r m Despair's sunse t scene wi th f igures in to a

r e n d i t i o n o f t h e g r e a t s c r e a m i n n a t u r e . T h r o u g h y e t a n o t h e r v e r b a laidthe

t i t l e Despair Munch migh t po in t o the rwise ba ff l ed v iewers in to r ecogn iz ing

a t l eas t the apparen t ly despe ra te mood o f the b lank- faced , s l igh t ly bowed fo re

ground man who tu rns toward the v iew of c i ty and f jo rd , and poss ib ly a l so l ead

them to r ecogn ize the au ra o f dea th t r ad i t iona l ly a s soc ia t ed wi th sunse t s .19 T h e

c louds , however, r emained c louds , r ed ce r t a in ly, bu t c louds never the les s , and no

sc ream passed th rough na tu re . "The mise rab le means ava i l ab le to pa in t ing , " a s

Skredsv ig obse rved , seemed inade qua te . The despa i r Munch the n exper i enced

was no t the despa i r he p ro jec ted in the p rose poem, wi th i t s c louds l ike b lood ,which he was t ry ing to dep ic t , bu t , r a the r, i t was despa i r a t t he inadequacy o f a

na tu ra l i s t i ca l ly o r i en ted a r t t o r e so lve the t a sk he se t h imse l f . Munch ' s despa i r

in 1892 was a despa i r o f fo rm in pa in t in g ; i t was a despa i r o f a r t i s t i c s ty le .

V.

Pa in te r ly fo rm and s ty le in themse lves never were o f in t e res t to Munch . The

n ine teen th -ce n tu ry doc t r ine o f a r t fo r a r t ' s sake , a s we l l a s mod ern i sm ' s Kan t i an

demand fo r se l f - con ta inment andself-referentiality, had no appea l fo r h im. The

s ty le , fo rm, and means o f an a r tw ork had the i r so le jus t i f i ca t ion in the i r ab i l i ty

to com mun ica te the con ten t o f the work to an aud ience and were thus m utab le

f rom one image to the nex t . "Wh en seen as a who le , " M unc h obse rved , "a r t

de r ives f rom a pe r son ' s des i r e to commu nica te w i th ano the r. A l l means a re

equa l ly good . "20 Com mun ica t io n was p r imary ; a l l e l se was subord ina ted to i t.

There wa s no sing le Munc h s ty le a t any t ime ; the re fo re , he a l t e red h i s approach

f rom one image to the nex t , l e t t ing the con ten t g ive shape to fo rm each t ime ,

never fixing on a single look for his works.

The p r imacy o f communica t ion combined wi th h i s inab i l i ty to ach ieve i t

p i c to r i a l ly whi l e work ing on the Despa i r /Sc ream mot i f in 1892 thus s ign i f i ed a

fundam enta l in adequ acy fo r h im in h i s work and approa ch . He was , a t t he t ime ,

espec ia l ly under the in f luence o f F rench Pos t - Impre ss ion i s t a r t , a l r eady mak in g

24

a t r ans i t ion f rom the na tu ra l i s t -o r i en ted works o f the 1880s and adop t ing an

ana tu ra l i s t i c , o r even an t ina tu ra l i s t i c , approach .21 The ou t l ines employed in the

p a i n t i n g Despair and the genera l suppress ion o f de ta i l i n i t , fo r example , t e s t i fy

to th i s , a s they pos i t a vocabu la ry o f a r t i f i ce r a the r than the na tu ra l i s t i c emula

t ion Munch re j ec ted asthoughtlessand idea - l e s s , content-less"detail p a i n t

ing . "22 As he con t inued to work on the mot i f du r in g the yea r, Mu nch m ade th e

charcoa l ske tch men t ioned ea r l i e r (p la t e 82) . He inc luded the pa in t ing ' s da rk

f rame , changed th e fo rmat s l igh t ly to g ive g rea te r ve r t i ca l accen t , s impl i f i ed the

landscape fu r the r, f l a t t ened the ou t l ined fo rms even more , and inc reased the

bu lk o f the fo reground f igure tha t l eans aga ins t the r a i l ing . Ins t ead o f ske tch ing

in the c louds a tmospher i ca l ly, however, he took a b rush loaded wi th deep red

gouache and s l a shed the co lo r in two b road , unmodula ted , coa r se ly d iagona l

s t rokes in to the a rea o f the sky. In a no tebook , he comm ented o n the e ffo r t :

"W hen the c louds o f a sunse t have the e ffec t o f a b loody b lanke t wh en one i s

in a d i s tu rbed s t a t e o f mind , then i t ce r t a in ly i s o f no use to pa in t some so r t o f

o rd ina ry c louds . I t i s necessa ry to go the d i rec t way and pa in t the ac tua l impres

s ion one had . In the pa in t ing [one mus t ] pa in t the c louds a s b lood . The impac t

o f a pa in t in g depen ds on wha t i t s ays . "23

Indeed , the sp lo tches o f gouache do have the appea rance o f b lood in the

con tex t o f the cha rcoa l d rawing , and thus fu l f i l l Munch ' s in t en t to dep ic t sub jec

t ive ly how som eth i ng i s seen "accord ing to one ' s mood ." How ever, even wi th a

b lood -smear ed sky, the o the r com pone n t o f the p rose poem, the sc ream fe l t to bepass ing th ro ugh na tu re , r emains l ack ing , and Munc h aga in r e so r t ed to a t t ach ing

h i s t ex t , somewh a t a l t e red , to the d rawing . Words r ema ined a necessa ry c ru tch

to fu l ly communica te the con ten t o f the image .

M u n c h ' s w r e s t l i n g w i t h t h e m o t i f a n d h o w t o p a i n t i t c o n t i n u e d t h r o u g h

ou t 1892 and the beg in n ing o f 1893 . The t ime was ex t rem ely s ign i f i can t b io -

g raph ica l ly a s we l l a s fo r h i s ca ree r, a s he moved f rom France , r e tu rned to

Norway, and then rece ived the f a t e fu l inv i t a t ion to exh ib i t i n Ber l in , where he

remained un t i l l a t e in the summer o f1893. 24 His an t ina tu ra l i s t s ty l i s t i c a t t i t udes

became rad ica l i zed dur ing th i s t ime , pa r t i cu la r ly a s he app l i ed the p rac t i ces o f

Pos t - Im press ion i s t a r t i s t s in an inc reas ing ly mo re pe r sona l and o r ig ina l f a sh ion

to h i s pa in t in gs and , fu r the r, a s he a s soc ia t ed wi th the wr i t e r s and a r t i s t s o f

Ber l in ' s Zum Schwarzen Ferkel (The Black Piglet) circle, including the Swedish

p layw r igh t Augus t S t r ind berg and the Po l ish nove l i s t and es say i s t S tan i s l aw

Przybysz ewsk i , bo th pass iona te in expe r imen ta t ion wi th a new sub jec t ive semi -

au tob iog raph ica l a r t and l i t e ra tu re ak in to Munch ' s own , a s we l l a s wi th p e r

sona l s tud ies o f human psycho log ica lpathology. 2^ Wi t h i n t h i s m i l i e u , M u n c h

f ina l ly deve loped the mot i f o fThe Scream in a ma nne r tha t sa t i s fi ed h i s own

demands o f i t . He abandoned the r emnan t s o f na tu ra l i s t i c a tmospher i c e ffec t s

and i l lu s ion s t i l l p resen t inDespair, and rep laced the heavy, me lancho l i c fo re

ground f igure wi th the sc reaming spec te r of a deper sona l i zed hu man oid c rea -

25


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t u re , f i r st i n a la rge pas te l ( f igu re 4 ) , t hen in the pa in t ing tha t u l t ima te ly

rece ived the insc r ip t ion "Cou ld on ly have been pa in ted by a madm an! "

(1893; plate 84).

VI .

Wh at i s mos t s t r ik ing abou tThe Scream is how dras t i ca l ly i t depa r t s f rom

Munch's p reced ing works concep tu a l ly and in execu t ion , even f rom the mos t

rad ica l among them, such asMelancholy (1891 ; p la t e 66). W h i l e Synthetist-l ike

f l a t t en ing and ou t l in ing o f fo rms , simpl i f i ca t ion o f co lo r schemes , and ma n ipu la

t ion o f spa t i a l r e l a t ionsh ips a re seen the re , i n no pa in t ing p r io r toThe Screamdid Munch t r ans fo r m the l andscape so a s ton i sh ing ly in to an tagon i s t i c seg

mentsthe swi r l ing fo rm s o f the f jo rd and sky, se t o ff aga ins t th e sha rp non -

curv ing o f the s t r a igh t road and ra i l ing wi thou t t r ans i t ion to genera te a t ense

spa t i a l ambiguityas in th i s work . In no ea r l i e r pa in t ing were co lo r s so ha r sh ,

c l a sh ing , and coa r se ly app l i ed . In no o the r d id he mixmediumsoil pa in t ,

gouache , t empera , pas te l , cha rcoa l , andpencilso f ree ly and a rb i t r a r i ly in de f i

ance o f al l accep ted ru les o f un i ty and ha rm ony. And in no p r io r pa in t ing d id

he depr ive the f igure so d ras t i ca l ly o f pe r sona l iden t i ty and bod i ly p resence , i t s

e n t i r e u n d u l a t i n g a n t i - a n a t o m y t r a p p e d i n t o t h e g e s t u r e o f h a n d s r a i se d t o a

co lo r l e s s head , the s ingu la rO of i t s mouth the so le s t ab le fo rm in the en t i r e

image . There a re no ske tches tha t p recede the pa in t ing , o the r than the l a rge pas

te l . The pa in t ing , indeed , g ives the i l lu s ion o f r ap id execu t ion , impe tu ous w i th

it s jumbled s t reaks o f co lo r and med i um s a top each o the r, vy ing wi th each o the r,

aug men t ing s t i l l fu r the r th e sense o f ins t ab i l i ty and d i s junc tu re tha t the compo

s i t ion p ro jec t s . I t i s a s i f t he im age had been p rod uced in a s t a t e o f f renzy, sp on

taneous ly, even unconsc ious ly, and wi thou t r a t iona l a r t i s t i ccontrolindeed,

m u c h a s a " m a d m a n " m i g h t b e t h o u g h t t o w o r k a n d p r o d u c e a r t w i t h o u t r e g a r d

fo r aes the t i c p r inc ip les , e ffec ts o f beau ty, o r p ic to r i a l coheren ce . The ve ry ac t o f

pa in t in g the image , accord in g to such a pe rcep t ion , i s an end in i t s e l f , a the rapeu

t i c p rocess mo re than an a r t i s t i c one . I t i s a s if Mun ch dep ic ted h i s anx ie t i e s in

o rde r to ga in con t ro l ove r the m.

Desp i t e such ind ices o f impe tuos i ty, however, t he pa in t ing i s the p roduc t o f

a l eng thy work ing p rocess , ex tend ing back over two yea r s , du r ing which Munch

sough t the so lu t ion to how th e " sc ream p ie rc ing na tu re" cou ld f ind v i sua l fo rm

and how i t migh t be l ibe ra ted f rom tex tu a l dependency.26 He ach ieved i t on ly in

consc ien t ious ly push ing and bend ing the p rac t i ces , s ty le s , and fo rmal vocabu la r

i e s o f con te mpo ra ry pa in t ing in to an unan t i c ipa ted d i rec t ion pe r son a l ly de f ined

by h im . I t i s, however, d i ffi cu l t t o f ind a r t -h i s to r i ca l sources fo r the image . There

a re k insh ips in compos i t ion , fo rm, and co lo ra t ion to works by va r ious con tempo

ra ry a r t i s t s , bu t none tha t cou ld be r ecogn ized as a p ro to typ e o r d i r ec t mode l fo r

M u n c h ' s Scream.27 In fact, The Scream embod ies a degree o f o r ig ina l i ty and

un iqu eness se ldom seen in the h i s to ry o f modern a r t . Onc e we rea l i ze th i s , once

Figure 4. Edvard Munch.TheScream. 1893. Pastel on cardboard. Munch M useum, Oslo

we a re aware o f the l abor and ach ievement o fThe Scream, the image ' s art b e g i n s

to ou twe igh eve n the con ten t o f despa i r and anx ie ty i t commun ica tes to us in

fu l f i l lmen t o f Munc h ' s d ic t a t e s . It is the f irm a r t i s t i c con t ro l Mu nch had ove r

h i s image and h i s bo ld inven t ion tha t impress .

The re i s one add i t ion a l poss ib le source fo r the s ty l i s t i c f ea tu res and t e chn i

ca l p rac t i ce o f Mun ch ' s im age tha t dese rves a t t en t ion . S ince the 1830s , man y

ar t i s t s had sough t ou t va r i ed a l t e rna t ives to the inc reas ing tu rmoi l , pe r s i s t en t

change , and unce r t a in t y o f mod ern u rban c iv i l i za t ion . Mos t tu rne d to r emote

v i l l ages in Europe , fo rming a r t i s t co lon ies in Pon t -Aven in Br i t t any, in Worps -

wede in Germa ny, and in Skagen in Denm ark , fo r example . A few, l ike Gaugu in ,wen t to even mo re exo t i c "p r im i t ive" loca les , i n Tah i t i and e l sewhere . Mu nch ,

accord ing to a pe rcep t ive c r i t i c and mem ber o fZum Schzvarzen Ferkel in Ber l in ,

chose a d i ff e ren t rou te and found h i s Tah i t i by tu rn ing inwa rd , th roug h in t ro

spec t ion , se l f - ana lys i s , and con temp la t ion o f hum an psych o logy and e ro t i c pa th

o logy.28 A b n o r m a l s t a t e s o f mindstates o f m i n d t h o u g h t t o b o r d e r o n i n s a n i t y

and resu l t ing f rom deep sp i r i tua l and pe r sona l c r i ses o r "d ru nken exper i enc es"

induced b y a l coho l , c iga re t t e s , s ex , o r evensunsetssimilarly, w e r e t h e p r i m e

concerns o f S t r indberg , P rzybyszewsk i , and o the rZum Schwarzen Ferkel a r t i s t s

and wr i t e r s . Whi le the re i s no conc lus ive ev idence fo r i t , t hey l ike ly a l so had an

in te res t in the a r t o f the men ta l ly d i s tu rbed . Works by the Swedi sh a r t i s t s Erns t

Josephson and Car l F redr ik Hi l l , who bo t h su ffe red men ta lbreakdownsusually

d iagnosed as schizophreniaafter in i t i a l ly success fu l ca ree r s a s pa in te r s , and

who con t inue d to mak e d rawings and pa in t ing s a ft e r the i r b reakd owns , we re

known to S t r indberg and va r ious Swedi sh a r t i s t s in Ber l in , and i t i s p robab le

tha t the i r works were show n to o the r memb ers o f the c i rc l e , i nc lud ing Mun ch .29

F u r t h e r m o r e , P r z y b y s z e w s k i , a s a s o m e t i m e m e d i c a l s tu d e n t , m a y h a v e h a d

access to pa t i en t s ' a r tw orks . Wh a t i s ce r t a in i s tha t by th e l a t e 1890s , a llth ree

S t r i n d b e r g , P r z y b y s z e w s k i , a n dMunchwere deep ly in te res t ed in the a r t o f

men ta l pa t i en t s .

I am no t p ropo s ing tha t Mu nch wa s d i rec t ly in f luenced by Josephson ' s o r

o t h e r s ' d r a w i n g s w h e n h e p a i n t e dThe Scream, h o w e v e r. W h a t M u n c h g a i n e d

f rom the s tudy o f such work was an unders t and ing o f i t and the d ive r se types

o f i m a g e r y g e n e r a t e d b y t h o s e w h o w e r e t e r m e dmad. He may we l l have ga ined

f rom i t a g rea te r wi l l ingn ess to r e j ec t the l a s t ves t iges of na tu ra l i sm andillu-

s ion i sm, which s t i l l haun ted h i s a r t when he a r r ived in Ber l in . Bu t wha t f ina l ly

se t s The Scream apar t i s tha t M unc h pa in ted as h i saudiencethe publics of

Scand inav ia , F rance , and Germ any he wasaddressingbelieved a m a d m a n w o u l d

pa in t , i n fo rmed by va r i ed popu la r i l l u s t r a t ed books and a r t i c l e s on men ta l i l l ness ,

degeneracy, and the r e l a t ionsh ip be tween gen ius and madness tha t appea red

wi th inc reas ing f r equency dur ing the 1880s and 1890s .30 The ab i l i ty o f Munch

to channe l wide ly he ld conv ic t ions , t r ans fo rm them th rough h i s imagery, and

then re -p resen t them to the pub l i c i s an a spec t o f h i s work tha t i s s t i l l l i t t l e

26 27


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r ecogn ized . I t con t r ibu tes to the phenomenon o f the con ten t and impac t o f h i s

a r t o f t en be ing unde rs tood o r apprec ia t ed fo r i ts power even by c r i t i c s, con te m

pora ry to Munch as we l l a s l a t e r, unsym pa th e t i c to h im or unwi l l in g to accep t

his stylistic approaches. 3 ' The imag e o f anx ie ty and madn ess , a s we migh t im ag

ine i t , is embodied inThe Scream. The penc i l ed insc r ip t ion "Cou ld on ly have

been pa in ted by a ma dm an! " o ffer s bo th conf i rma t ion an d so lace: the wor ld

dep ic ted i s "mad ," the v iewer i s no t .

VI I .

Munch cou ld no t l eave the image a lone , however. In i t s r ad ica l appea rance , i t s

fo rmal and s ty l i s t i c p rac t i ces , i t su rpassed no t on ly ea r l i e r works bu t o the r s con

tem pora ry wi th i t . Indeed , seen today in the to ta l i ty o f Mun ch ' s oeuvre ,The

Scream con t inu es to s t and ou t in t e rms o f how uncha rac te r i s t i c i t i s o f h i s work

genera l ly, by how un iq ue i t i s . If , a s in a r ecen t ex h ib i t ion , we can see a l a rge

body o f Munch ' s work as be ing "a f t e rThe Scream," 32 we can , l ikewise , ca tego

r ize o the r s a s "be fo re The Scream," leav ing The Scream itself as an isolated ful

c rum, a phe nom eno n a roun d which eve ry th i ng e l se co l l ec t s bu t which no t h ing

matche s . I t i s no t an exaggera t io n to c l a im tha tThe Scream is the l eas t cha rac

te r i s t i c and rep resen ta t iv e o f Mu nch ' s images .

Mun ch rea l i zed th i s . In va r ious ways he sough t to suppress o r modi fy p re

c i se ly the image ' s un iqu eness . Above a l l , he a t t empt ed to subsum e i t w i th i n the

series of his Frieze of Life cyc le . Inse r t ion in to a se ri a l s equence had dua l con sequences , a s i t fo rced the image to be v iewed in the c lose con tex t o f o the r s so tha t

they mutua l ly modi f i ed each o the r, and i t necessa r i ly fo rcedThe Scream to be

par t o f the l a rge r to t a l i ty o f Munch ' s r ecen t works , no t a l lowing i t t o be i so la t ed

and sepa ra ted . The Scream, however, r e s i s t ed such e ffo r t s .

Whe n M unch f i r s t exh ib i t ed the pa in t ing in 1893 , i t fo rmed th e f ina l image

of the g roup o f s tud ies fo r a se r i e s on Love tha t he p lanned , and , a s such a f ina l

s t a t ement , i t o ffe red a r ad ica l conc lus ion o f anx ie ty, despa i r, and loss o f iden t i ty

to the sequen t i a l na r ra t ive o f love ' s beg inn ing s , fu l f il lmen t , and d i s rup t ion in to

jea lousy. In the expandedFrieze, however, Munch pos i t ioned i t a s a t r ans i t ion

f rom a na r ra t iv e o f love and l if e to a na r ra t ive o f dea th and su rv iva l ( f igu re 5 ) .

He found i t necessa ry to r epea t a spec t s o fThe Scream's imagefor e x a m p l e , t h e

d i s t r e s sed f ron ta l fo reground f igure inRed Virginia Creeper (1898-1900 ; p la t e

94) o r the s t r iped sky and se t t ing inAngst (1894 ; p la t e 81)in n e i g h b o r i n g

images in o rde r to keep a sense o f v i sua l coherence and con t inu i ty, i n e ffec t , i n

o rde r to mute the impac t i t wou ld have a lone . In the r ad ica l i ty o f i t s fo rmal

so lu t ions and the con ten t they t r ansmi t ,The Scream d e m a n d s a n i n d e p e n d e n c e

Mu nch wa s unwi l l ing to g ran t i t . He seems never to have exh ib i t ed the pa in t

ings of The Scream separa te ly f rom the se r i a l con tex t tha t subdued the image ,

chape roned i t , and gave i t an appare n t con tex tua l na r ra t ive me an in g f r ee of b io

graph ic jus t i f ica t ion o r ex p l i ca t ion .33

Figure 5. Exhibition ofEdvardMunch's Frieze of Life, at P. H.Beyer & Sohn, Leipzig, 1903:Wall showing Red VirginiaCreeper, The Scream, Angst,Evening on Karl Johan Street,Death in the Sick Room, By theDeathbed, and Dead Motherand Child

VII I .Pe rhaps , in tha t d r ive toward independe nce i s a l so con ta ined the un ique a t t ach

men t to t ex t Mun ch d i sp layed wi th th i s work . Af te r pa in t ingThe Scream in

1893 , he s topped rev i s ing i t s a s soc ia t ed p rose poem, and d id no t l ink i t t o the

pa in t ing as he had to the ea r l i e rDespair imagery. Loca t ion in the se r i a l s equence

of the pa in t ing se r i e s Love subs t i tu t ed fo r the t ex tua l exp l i ca t ion .34 H o w e v e r ,

when Munch began to t r ans la t e some o f h i s Love themes in to l i thographs in

1895 in Ber l in , he r e in t roduced the t ex t fo rThe Scream and p r in ted the t i t l e and

succ inc t insc r ip t ion , " I f e l t t he g rea t sc ream th rough na tu re , " in German

benea th the image (p la t e86). 35 Simi la r ly, when the l i thograph was r ep roduced in

the F rench Symbol i s t pe r iod ica l ,La Revue blanche, a t the end o f the yea r, he

accom pan ied i t w i th a F rench ve r s ion o f h is p rose poem (page227). 3


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Not on ly tha t , bu t un l ike mot i f s tha t depend on the "Mrs . He ibe rg " na r ra

t ive , in which Munch sough t to r ep resen t , a s he phrased i t , t he unde r ly ing "e te r

na l powers" tha t un i t e a l l human l ives and , the re fo re , avo ided the spec i f i c i ty o f

ind iv idua l l ikeness ( even as f ac ia l f ea tu res o f t en r e t a ine d a degree o f k insh ip to

peop le Munch knew, fo r example , members o f h i s f ami ly ) , fo rThe Scream h e

announced , th rough the a t t ached t ex t s , t ha t the exper i ence was h i s own , tha t i t

was he who fe l t t he g rea t sc ream in na tu re .38 Unl ike the ins i s t en t f i c t iona l iza t ion

of the "Mrs . He ibe rg" accoun t s , w i th a l t e red nam es and a t ex t l a rge ly wr i t t en in

the th i rd pe r son , the seve ra lScream prose poems a l l imm edia te ly beg in by iden

t i fy ing Mun ch h imse l f a s the sub jec t :"I was wa lk ing a long the road . "

I ron ica l ly, w i th in the wor ld o fMunch's works o f the 1890s , th i s i s the

image , whe t he r pa in t i ng o r l i t hograph , in which the f igure i s the mo s t d ras t i

ca l ly de - ind iv idua l i zed . In theScream images , the f igure loses a l l cha rac te r i s t i c s

o f human ana tomy and ind iv idua t ion . Cons i s t ing o f no th ing bu t a wide -open

mouth , gap ing eyes , and the nos t r i l s ' two ho les , t he f ace and head wi th sku l l - l ike

con tou rs l ack al l i den t i fy ing fea tu res . The f igure de f i e s huma n an a tom y i t se l f a s,

worml ike , i t tw i s t s and bends wi th the cu rves o f the l andscape and sky.The

Scream i s, if t h i s i s poss ib le , ego lessness pe r son i f ied . And ye t , Mu nch ins i s t ed

tha t the aud ience o f h i s a r t r ecogn ize h imin The Scream. Through h i s t ex t s , he

res to red iden t i ty to the deper sona l i zed . In the p rocess , he a l so genera ted a neces

sa ry t ens ion in the v iewer ' s unders t and ing o fThe Scream, as the seeming ly un i

ve r sa l i ron ica l ly became pe r sona l , and v ice ve r sa , demand ing a pe r s i s t en t s t a t eo f unce r t a in ty, a l ack o f c losu re whose un ease mi r ro r s tha t o f the anx ie ty th e

image v i sua l ly r ep resen t s .

IX .

The p rocess o f mul t ip le muta t ion and recyc l ing o f h i s imagery i s fundamenta l

to any unders t and ing o f Munch ' s work and h i s ach ievements . In our cons ide ra

t ion o f the r e l a t ionsh ip be tween Munch ' s l i f e and h i s wr i t t en , a s we l l a s v i sua l ,

imagery, e spec ia l ly a s r evea led th roughThe Scream, i t i s impor tan t to r ea l i ze

tha t bo th ve rba l t ex t s and v i sua l images a re h igh ly med ia ted , and tha t the p r imary

media t ing fo rce i s the submis s ion to consc ious, de te rm ined , and goa l -o r i en te d

a r t i s t i c fo rmat ion by Mun ch h imse l f in o rde r to max imize the i r com munic a t ive

capac i ty fo r an aud ience . To cons ide r Mu nch ' s w ork as p r imar i ly pe r sona l , con

fess iona l, o r the rapeu t i c i s , t he re fo re , an e r ro r. The adm oni t io n M unch a t t ached

in 1929 to h i s ea r l i e r wr i t ings , a s he was r ead ing th rough them, bu t which c r i t i c s

and scho la r s have a lmos t cons i s t en t ly ignored , app l i e s equa l ly to h is v i sua l

image ry : "The se . . . a r e pa r t ly ac tua l exper i ences , pa r t ly poe t i c exper i ences . I do

no t in t end to p resen t m y exper i ences th roug h them . The y a re in t ended to seek

ou t the h idde n powers . . . w i th in the ma ch ine ry tha t i s ca l l ed a huma n l i f e, and

the i r conf l i ct w i th o the r hum an l ives . Wh en I co l l ec t these now, they wi l l be

marke d by m y cur re n t sp i r i tua l s t a t e . . . . How d i ff icu l t i t i s t o de te rmin e w ha t

3

i s unau then t i c , wha t i s concea led dece i t , s e l f -decep t ion , o r the f ea r o f showin g

myse l f in my t rue l igh t . "39

As he remarks , Munch conce ived o f h i s a r t a s fundamenta l ly d idac t i c , a s

t r ans mi t t i ng con te n t and mean ing . Thu s a p rocess ak in to se l f - ana lys i s, t h e

examina t ion o f h i s own "sou l , " se rved h im as the bas i s fo r a r eve la t ion o f the

"h idden powers" o f human l i f e and in te rpe r sona l conf l i c t . Bu t the ve ry p rocess

o f o rde r ing these , o f shap ing them , necessa r i ly t r ans fo rm ed the m and m arked

them wi th "m y cur ren t sp i r i tua l s t a t e" ; they los t "au th en t i c i ty" o r t ru th -va lue

in t e rms o f na r ra t ing h i s pas t b iography, bu t they s imul t aneous ly ga ined in the i r

r eve la to ry impac t .

Wh en he a l lowed the penc i led insc r ip t ion "Cou ld on ly have been pa in ted by

a m a d m a n ! " t o s t a n d o n t h e p a i n t i n gThe Scream, or when he p laced , benea th the

l i thograph image , the ba ld s t a t ement , " I f e l t t he g rea t sc ream th rough na tu re , "

Munch pe rmi t t ed h i s aud ience to be mis led . However, he d id so on ly to make the

a r t - f i c t ion o f the images more r ead i ly be l i evab le and accep tab le in i t s eccen t r i c

ity. Similarly, he applied aformalor an t i fo rmal , formlessstylistic v o c a b u l a r y

of r ad ica l d i s to r t ion tha t r eca l l ed the appea rance o f a r tworks by pe r sons deemed

"mad ." The wo rd ing o f the a ssoc ia t ed t ex t s , mean whi le , c l ea r ly a r t i cu la t ed tha t

the "madness" v i sua l ly p resen ted bo th in fo rm and con ten t was s i tua ted in the

pas t , i n a t emp ora l mo me nt c l ea r ly d ivorced f rom the v iewer ' s p resen t and p res

ence . If t he work w as to o ffer an im age o f pa tho log ica l despa i r and a nx ie ty, the

"madness" o f the a r t i s t shou ld se rve to t e s t i fy to the va l id i ty o f the r ep resen tat ion , to make the o the rwise unaccep tab le image accep tab le , bu t theaudienceas

wel l a s , s ign i f i can t ly, t he a r t i s t work ing and exh ib i t ing "a f t e rThe Scream" also

had to be p ro tec ted f rom a too- re ady iden t i ty wi t h the de rang ed image . Mu nch

adop ted the ep i the t o f madness a s t e s t imony to the s ince r i ty o f h i s a r t . None t he

lessin an e ffo r t r ep le t e wi th con t rad ic t ions and poss ib ly doom ed tofailhe

a l so a t t empted to sepa ra te h imse l f and h i s a r t i s t i c iden t i ty f rom the spec te r o f

madness . H i s pe r sona l b iography and exper i ence , in so fa r a s they se rved as sources

fo r h i s images , were t r ans fo rm ed , syn th es ized , ma n ipu la ted , f a l si f ied , and

fusedas he sough t to cons t ruc t a p ic to r i a l r ea lm tha t , v i sua l ly, wou ld o ffe r

op t ima l communica t ion o f the con ten t o f h i s images .

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