Becoming Edvard Munch: Influence, Anxiety, and Myth (Art Institute of Chicago)
Category: Books,Arts & Photography,History & Criticism
Becoming Edvard Munch: Influence, Anxiety, and Myth (Art Institute of Chicago) Details
Review Runner-up for the award for Outstanding Exhibition Catalogue, given by the Association of Art Museum Curators (Outstanding Exhibition Catalogue Association of Art Museum Curators (AAMC) 2010-05-01)". . . a hand-held gallery, as beautifully designed as it is written."--Print Quarterly (Print Quarterly)". . . makes a convincing case that Munch is indeed misperceived."--Failure Magazine (Failure Magazine) Read more About the Author Jay A. Clarke is Associate Curator of Prints and Drawings at the Art Institute of Chicago. Read more
Reviews
The catalogue for an exhibition held until april 2009 at the Art Institute in Chicago, this book is an interesting study that tries to debunk the myth surrounding the Norwegian painter Edvard Munch. Far from being the reclusive and emotionally unstable artist that history has made out of him, he actually revealed a keen sense of the world that surrounded him, and especially of the art world. The authors of the book emphasize the fact that Munch, contrary to what he wanted the public to believe, was the subject of many influences, whether by Van Gogh, Gauguin, Ensor, Whistler, Klinger, and many more. Several chapters strive to explain the real Munch, in his relationship to the artists who were his contemporaries, in his attitude towards the market and in the way he succeeded in creating a myth around himself and his art.The illustrations are numerous, almost all of them in color, however, very few are full-page and there are almost no close-ups. Therefore, only 4 stars instead of 5...
