Abstract

Whether on oddly-shaped pillows, shrieking dolls, or basic coffee mugs, the emaciated protagonist with a gaping mouth and the swirling landscape of Edvard Munch's <em>The Scream </em>is one of today's most widespread images. Though Munch died just as abstract expressionism was being born, his emphasis on the highly personal and the unconscious through abstraction, brushwork, and intensely evocative colors link him closely to this important American art movement. Through the specific comparison of the oeuvre of Munch and the abstract expressionist Willem de Kooning, this essay will examine how and why the Norwegian painter became known as the "father of expressionism" in the history of art. <em>The Scream</em> is not central to this discussion, but instead will be looked at in conjunction with other early paintings and prints, such as <em>The Sick Child</em> and <em>The Kiss. </em>These works and others reveal Munch's artistics philosophy and technique and allow us to draw broader connections to future movements, neo-dadaism and expressionism among them.

Highlights

  • WHETHER ON ODDLY-SHAPED PILLOWS, SHRIEKING DOLLS, OR BASIC COFFEE MUGS, THEEMACIATEDP ROT AG ON IST WITH GAPINGMOUTHANDTHESWIRLINGLANDSCAPE

  • Munch transcended the artistic conventions of his time and began to formulate ideas that would lay the groundwork for Expressionism i n art

  • There could be new pictures again."111 After a closer look at the Scandinavian master's oeuvre, it is tempting but highly appropriate to squeeze Munch between Cezanne and Picasso i n this list of "destroyers." De Kooning's word choice above is provocative, ; while "destruction" implies violence and annihilation i n most contexts, de Kooning applies i t to art, designating it a harbinger of renaissance, a sort of tabula rasa for the artist, a chance to redefine the artistic vocabulary and revolutionize painting

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Summary

Introduction

WHETHER ON ODDLY-SHAPED PILLOWS, SHRIEKING DOLLS, OR BASIC COFFEE MUGS, THEEMACIATEDP ROT AG ON IST WITH GAPINGMOUTHANDTHESWIRLINGLANDSCAPE. There could be new pictures again."111 After a closer look at the Scandinavian master's oeuvre, it is tempting but highly appropriate to squeeze Munch between Cezanne and Picasso i n this list of "destroyers." De Kooning's word choice above is provocative, ; while "destruction" implies violence and annihilation i n most contexts, de Kooning applies i t to art, designating it a harbinger of renaissance, a sort of tabula rasa for the artist, a chance to redefine the artistic vocabulary and revolutionize painting.

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