Melancholia ( Norwegian. Melankoli ), also known as Evening , Jealousy and Yappa on the shore - a painting by the Norwegian expressionist Edward Munch , written in 1891 .
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| Edvard Munch | ||
| Melancholy . 1892 | ||
| Norwegian Melankoli | ||
| Oil on canvas . 64 × 96 cm | ||
| National Gallery , Oslo | ||
Content
Description
The picture depicts a sad young man sitting with his head propped on a deserted rocky coast, in which the real Osgorni landscape is recognized. “Melancholia” has become one of the pictures in which the artist’s characteristic style finally crystallizes: expressive, clearly defined contours, simplified forms, a gloomy, somewhat enigmatic mood. The impact of impressionism , palpable in his recent works (“Night at Saint-Cloud”, “Starry Night”, “Spring on Karl Johan Street”), is almost not felt. It is assumed that the development of his new style was influenced by the work of Paul Gauguin , which he could see in France [1] .
The hero of the picture is a close friend of Munk Jappa Nielsen, at the time of writing the picture, involved in an unlucky affair with Oda Krogh, the wife of influential artist Christian Krogh [1] .
Critical ratings
For the first time the picture was presented in 1891 at the Autumn Exhibition in Oslo . A laudatory review was given by Christian Krog, despite some delicacy of the situation (he knew about his wife’s novel with Yapp Nielsen and that it was Yapp who was depicted in the picture): the maitter called Munch “the first Norwegian symbolist ” and artist “worthy of the composer’s glory” [ 1] . Other critics were less supportive. Erik Wörnschell wrote that Munch exposes "unfinished canvases, oil and pastels mixed and spread over the canvas, huge areas of which ... remain unfilled" [2] . The Aftenposten observer openly ridiculed the picture, comparing the figure of Yappa with the "smoked sausage" [3] .
Related Works
Although Munch's artistic style was largely innovative and met with a lack of understanding among critics, the pose of Yappa is traditional for works of art on the subject of melancholy and recalls, among other things, the famous engraving by Durer . Among the predecessors of the “Melancholy” that allegedly influenced Munch directly, Arne Eggum calls “Christ on the Mount of Olives” Paul Gauguin [4] . In the work of Munch himself, “Melancholia” echoes the earlier painting “Summer Night (Inger on the Shore)”, written in 1889 and still marked by impressionistic influences. Actually "Melancholia" exists in a variety of options, both pictorial and graphic; in the variant from Reinhardt frieze, the male figure is absent. In addition, Munch's hand belongs to another picture called "Melancholia", depicting his sister Laura, who was treated in a psychiatric clinic . “Jealousy”, one of the earliest names of “Melancholy”, is carried by another Munch painting , created in 1895 . The figure of Yappa from “Melancholy” strongly resembles the main character of one of the early versions of “ Cry ”, known as “Despair” or “Mood at Dusk”; similar images appear in his other paintings, such as The Ashes and The Vampire .
Gallery
Albrecht Dürer . Melancholy I (1514)
Paul Gauguin . "Christ on the Mount of Olives" (1889)
"Summer night. Inger ashore "(1889)
Melancholy (1894-96)
Melancholy (1893)
"Evening. Melancholy I (1896)
Despair (1894)
"Melancholy (sister Laura)" (1911)
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 Atle Ness. Edvard Munch: Biography of the artist . Publishing house "All World", 2007.
- ↑ Reinhold Heller. Edvard Munch. Leben und Werk . Prestel, Munich 1993.
- ↑ Sue Prideaux. Edvard Munch: Behind the Scream . Yale University Press, 2007
- ↑ Arne Eggum: Die Bedeutung von Munchs zwei Aufenthalten in Frankreich 1891 und 1892 . In: Sabine Schulze (ed.): Munch in Frankreich . Schirn-Kunsthalle Frankfurt in Zusammenarbeit mit dem Musée d'Orsay, Paris und dem Munch Museet, Oslo. Hatje, Stuttgart 1992