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Edvard Munch’s Demons

July 27, 2015

Edvard Munch's "The Scream" is an icon of modernity and considered to be the most valuable painting in the world. The artist’s difficult life is, however, less well known.

https://p.dw.com/p/1G2Td

In his mid-40s, the painter Edvard Munch was facing the greatest crisis of his life. Already hailed abroad as the artist of the future, in his native Norway he was seen as a hack and psychopath. His mother and sister Sophie had both died of consumption at an early age. The dramatic relationship with his fiancée Mathilde Larsen had ended with a shot that crippled the middle finger of his left hand. His sister Laura had been put in a lunatic asylum. And Munch feared he would soon go insane too.


After the heavy blows of fate and the dramatic relationship, the painter felt like he was possessed by a demon and painted to try and fight his fear and despair. His paintings show his innermost feelings and seem like a diary. He had hoped two summer stays in the German Baltic Sea resort of Warnemünde would bring him relief but instead he sank more deeply into alcohol. In the autumn of 1908, Munch was diagnosed with paranoia and sent to a sanatorium in Copenhagen. Weaning himself off alcohol was brutal, but nine months later he was released as a recovered alcoholic.

23.07.15 Doku Edvard Munchs Dämonen 3
Our documentary was filmed on location and illuminates Munch's demons: paranoia, anxiety and alcoholism.


But Munch always knew his demons could reawaken. The price he paid for his new life was high: He returned to Norway, painted like a man possessed and allowed few people to get close to him. His paintings were his "children." Munch was awarded Norway’s St. Olav's Medal and eclipsed even Picasso and van Gogh at exhibitions all over Europe. He was now a world star. But to his fellow countrymen, he was still a very odd fellow.

23.07.15 Doku Edvard Munchs Dämonen 2
Fearing he would soon be unable to paint because of eye trouble, Munch bought an amateur film camera in Paris in 1927 and made his own films.



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