Biography
Publisher:
Aschehoug
Release year:
2023
“Well written, solid and captivating”
See all reviews
So it is not in the anecdotes about women, wine and song that Figueiredo tells anything new about Munch.
On the other hand, he does so in the story of the strategic painter Munch, who deliberately used the scandals surrounding his solo exhibitions to become the most controversial artist of his time. He did that with great success in Kristiania and later in Berlin – the only place where he did not succeed with his strategy was in Paris.
Home track
Figueiredo is at home in his portrayal of growing up in Kristiania and his first stay in Berlin in 1892. With striking detail, he describes how the family from the western edge ended up in Grünerløkka. With empathy, he portrays his father’s nervousness, the pious mother’s – and not least his older sister’s – premature death.
The biography also excels with enjoyable anecdotes about his first crush, not to mention the anxiety that drove Munch during his erotic adventure with Milly Thaulow. Most interesting of all are Figueiredo’s depictions of Munch’s work as a young artist, the one who painted “The Sick Child” in 1885. In an excellent way, he shows that it is not only a painting of his sister’s death, but also a leap into the unknown in terms of painting technique – in the sense of a type of painting no one had painted before and which made even Munch uncertain about the way forward.
THE STORM IN THE EYE: In the title, Figueiredo alludes to the storm in the eye – the turmoil Munch lived with all his life. His paintings caused scandal because they were often perceived as unfinished sketches. An example is this self-portrait, where Munch has scraped off paint to bring out the distinctive expression. Photo: The Munch Museum Show more
Took entrance fee
Figueiredo is not alone in mentioning Munch’s exhibitions. But as far as I know, he is the first to show how important they were in the years when Munch became the foremost artist of his generation. It began with an exhibition in Kristiania in 1888: “Now he wanted to use the solo exhibition to move away from (the peer Gustav. editor’s note) Wentzel and secure the ticket to Paris”, points out Figueiredo.
This look at the significance of the exhibitions for Munch’s career runs like a red thread through the biography. By following it, Figueiredo sheds new light on how Munch became controversial and famous, not only in Norway, but also in Europe.
Because in 1892, Munch was invited to Berlin to exhibit his works. The exhibition caused a scandal and was closed after a week. Munch knew how to take advantage of the scandal and soon opened his own exhibition – draped by a Norwegian flag at the front door. As one of the first, he took an entrance fee, and that says something about the interest in Munch in the city. With these exhibitions he established himself as a pioneering artist in Berlin and became a role model for a generation of young German artists. Expanding the focus from the paintings to the exhibitions is a smart move on Figueiredo’s part, and enables him to tell a new story about Munch’s career and fame.
What a lady!
A restless life
The title “The Storm” alludes to Munch’s restless life with travels between Kristiania, Berlin and Paris. While Figueiredo describes Munch’s artistic scandals and successes in Kristiania and Berlin in great detail, I do not get as clear a picture of Munch’s attempt to make it big in Paris in 1896.
For example, the Paris stay begins with a long explanation of the importance of the relationship between the center and the periphery in order to understand the artistic life in Europe. Despite his thoughts about “the province’s resource”, the depiction of Munch’s attempt to make a name for himself in the city is difficult to come by.
Closer to the sources
We learn very little about the two exhibitions Munch participated in in Paris. Using the mentions in the newspapers, Figueiredo argues that Munch received more attention than expected. But he does not build up his argument with quotes from the articles. Instead, he resorts to terms such as “Norwegianness”, “universalism” and “foreignness” to explain the measured interest among Parisians. Here I wish Figueiredo had written more closely about the sources.
Among other things, we know that Munch became acquainted with the French poet Stéphane Mallarmé. Munch visited his famous Tuesday salon, Mallarmé’s apartment in the Rue de Rome, where the city’s artists and writers often gathered. In Munch’s case, the visits resulted in a portrait, which Mallarmé is said to have thought highly of. Why hasn’t Figueiredo told the story of this meeting with support in the existing correspondence? With the help of Mallarmé’s texts, he was also able to get an important source for understanding Paris’ artistic life and probably got a better grasp of why Munch did not become big in Paris.
Nevertheless, there is no doubt that the first volume of “The Storm” is a well-written and fascinating account of a chaotic life, a diverse artistry and a great painter – in which the exhibitions are also part of the work.
Brutal familiekollaps
Get the most important book news
– right in the inbox.
Sign up for the newsletter now.
2023-10-11 22:23:44
#light #Munch
