Madonna (Edvard Munch)
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Madonna is a painting by the Norwegian expressionist Edvard Munch. Munch painted five versions of the Madonna between 1894 and 1895, using oils on canvas.
The version owned by the Munch Museum of Oslo was stolen in 2004 but recovered two years later. Another is owned by businessman Nelson Blitz.
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[edit] Description
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Although it is a highly unusual representation, nevertheless, this painting might be of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Until the 20th century Mary was usually represented in high art as a chaste, mature woman.[citation needed] True to the Norwegian cultural beliefs and way of life, the painting is a strong dose of conceivable realism. Sigrun Rafter, an art historian at the Oslo National Gallery suggests that Munch intended to represent Mary in the life-making act of intercourse, with the sanctity and sensuality of the union captured by Munch. The usual golden halo of Mary has been replaced with a red halo symbolizing the love and pain duality. The viewer's viewpoint is that of the man who is making love with her. Even in this unusual pose, she embodies some of the key elements of canonical representations of the Virgin: she has a quietness and a calm confidence about her. Her eyes are closed, expressing modesty, but she is simultaneously lit from above; her body is seen, in fact, twisting toward the light so as to catch more of it, even while she does not face it with her eyes. These elements suggest aspects of conventional representations of the Annunciation.
The model for the painting was Dagny Juel-Przybyszewska.
[edit] Discourse about the title
Whether this is truly a representation of Mary is highly controversial. As a matter of fact Munch didn't name the painting himself which is why there are several titles - all given by others - such as "Loving Woman" and "The Madonna-Face". He didn't deny any of these titles. It is well known that Munch painted mostly friends and kins, he is not famous for religious artwork and was sure enough no Christian. The affinity to Mary might as well be intended nevertheless, as an emphasis on the beauty and perfection of his friend Dagny Juel-Przybyszewska and an expression of his worship and high esteem in which he held her.[1]
[edit] Theft
On Sunday, 22 August 2004, Madonna and a version of The Scream were stolen from the Munch Museum by masked men wielding firearms. The robbers forced the museum guards to lie down on the floor while they snapped the cable securing the paintings to the wall and escaped in a black Audi A6 station wagon, which police later found abandoned.
Both paintings were recovered by the Oslo Police on 31 August 2006. The following day Ingebjørg Ydstie, director of the Munch Museum, said the condition of the paintings was much better than expected and that the damages, including a 2.5 cm hole in the Madonna, could be repaired.[2]
[edit] References
- ^ Cornelia Gerner, Die "Madonna" in Edvard Munchs Werk – Frauenbilder und Frauenbild im ausgehenden 19. Jahrhundert Knut Brynhildsvoll, Literaturverlag Norden Mark Reinhard, Morsbach, 1993, ISBN 978-3927153400
- ^ "Munch paintings 'can be repaired'". BBC News. September 1, 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/5305538.stm. Retrieved 2006-09-01.
[edit] Resources
[edit] External links
- Madonna in the MoMA Online Collection
- California State University
