After the Scream: The Late Paintings of Edvard Munch

Expressing the anxieties of the late nineteenth century and the uncertainties of the modern world, Edvard Munch (1862-1944) often depicted in his works dangerously seductive fin de siècle women, sickly figures, and isolated characters in barren landscapes. These powerful, haunting paintings are widely recognized and revered, especially his iconic work The Scream (1893). Yet few admirers of Munch's early works realize that the artist lived well into the twentieth century and was enormously productive almost to the time of his death. This compelling book, focusing on more than sixty of Munch's later paintings, reveals the surprising, vibrant work of a fascinating man who never ceased to grow as an artist. Following decades of restless wandering among the capitals of Europe, Munch suffered a breakdown in Copenhagen in 1908 and retreated to his native Norway. In 1916 he purchased an estate near present-day Oslo where he lived and worked, mostly in his outdoor studio, for the next twenty years. Although Munch never abandoned a deeply introspective approach to image-making, in his later works he expressed a new attachment to the visible world, adopting a fresh range of subjects and a looser, brighter painting style. The pictures of this period-full of vivid color, evocative atmospheres, and visual drama-are a revelation, casting new light on one of the most complex artists of the modern era. :