Munch by Himself

The celebrated Norwegian painter and printmaker Edvard Munch (1863-1944) is one of the most influential figures in modern art. With his interest in self-analysis, Munch ranks among the great self-portrait painters of Western art - from Rembrandt through Goya to Van Gogh. His intense, evocative treatment of psychological and emotional themes offers a fascinating insight into the psyche of an artist. Few artists have observed and painted themselves throughout their lives as frequently as Munch, and few have revealed their weaknesses and anxieties as frankly. This handsome volume, the catalogue of an exhibition at the Moderna Museet, Stockholm, the Munch-museet, Oslo, and the Royal Academy of Arts, London, examines for the first time Munch's extensive œuvre of painted and graphic self-portraits, together with his rarely seen drawings and photographic self-portraits. The curator and scholar Iris Müller-Westermann sets these works of startling originality in context in her incisive account of the artists life and career. Munch by Himself sheds light on the wide range of Munch's self-portraits, enabling us to trace the visual self-reflections of the artist who created The Scream (1893), the iconic painting that expresses modern alienation and isolation.