»Kan kun vor paints of an dim mand!« Wrote the Norwegian painter on his most famous painting »The Scream«: »could only have been painted by a lunatic!« Infrared pictures at the Norwegian National Museum confirm this Chew this note yourself! Oslo.
This inscription is always visible to the naked eye, says the responsible curator, My Brit Guleng, but the infrared pictures now help distinguish the writing more clearly from its background. The comparisons with the artist’s handwriting clearly proved Manch’s authorship, she states in a press release.
The letter was first seen in 1904, eleven years after the drawing was made. Art work was exhibited in Copenhagen at that time. Critics consider that an outraged viewer spoiled the painting.
In fact, the expressionist work provoked discussions from the beginning, in which, even in Muncha’s presence, his mental state was openly discussed. Gülen wrote to art critic and museum director Heinrich Grosh, who wrote in the early 20th century that, in view of this picture, “can no longer be regarded as a reasonable man with a normal mind.” This was a general opinion.
© Borre Hostland / National Museum (Detail)
Inscriptions in Infrared (above) and visible light (below). Under the microscope you can see that the lettering is on the paint, that is, it was added only later.
Chew’s diary entries and letters show that the artist faced this handwriting. “There was also concern about hereditary diseases generally. Both his grandfather and father were suffering from sadness, as it was said at the time, ”says Gülen. Muncha’s sister Laura was also temporarily treated in psychiatry.
“Scream” was first exhibited in October 1895 in a private art gallery in Cristiano, now Oslo. The note on “Srei” was probably made directly after a student club event, at which participants debated the picture and Munch’s mental state. “The inscription can be understood as an ironic comment, but also as an expression of the artist’s vulnerability,” Gülen says. There are a total of four versions of “Shrei”, only one of which contains the sentence.
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