A new era
(click on the picture for larger image)
Edvard Munch was not unfamiliar with the
idea that not merely joy but also illness and suffering can promote
artistic creativity. In the eighteen nineties,  when
he made the “Frieze of Life”, Munch is supposed to have
said that the only tolerable existence would be to lie in fever,
because then you can see all the beautiful and strange things that
you want. During his stay at the nerve clinic in Copenhagen Munch
writes in a letter: “My health is progressing and my ability
to cope with social intercourse is improving. But strangely enough
this does not do my art especially good. Actually my former sick
state of mind was very good for my artistic work.”
After Edvard Munch’s recovery from his
mental breakdown he starts a new life. He almost stops traveling
and he refrains from alcohol. His painting changes too. Instead
of depicting his inner mental life the artist now creates paintings
with social motives, for example harvesting farmers and workers
on their way home. The artist’s method of painting also changes
– his pictures become light and colorful and are made with
an expressionistic technique.
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