Edvard Munch: 1863-1944 (Basic Art) [Paperback]

Ulrich Bischoff (Author)

Book Description

Series: Basic Art | Publication Date: August 1, 1999

Madonna, Self-Portrait, Anxiety, The Death Bed, The Day After, Melancholy, The Dance of Life, The Scream, and 8 others.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Russian painter Kasimir Malevich (1878-1935) is remembered primarily as the founder of the short-lived Suprematist movement in the 1920s. Yet his style varied quite a lot, tracing a curve from representation, followed by abstraction, and thence a return to the human figure. Similarly, Norwegian Edvard Munch (1863-1944) is so associated with his icon of angst, The Scream (1893), that his later, more painterly landscapes and portraits are often forgotten. Because these artists are best known for a small part of their output, these volumes, which review their entire careers, are particularly valuable. Textual matter is whittled to a minimum. Each volume contains just a pair of two-page essays: a terse biographical sketch followed by a succinct aesthetic commentary. As a result, these thin titles cannot be thought of as a source of anything but visual information, but they serve that purpose superbly. Their signature feature is the inclusion of numerous (60-70) high-quality color plates derived from every period in each artist's life. The 15th and 16th entries, respectively, in Abrams's excellent "Great Modern Masters" series, these books are identical in format to earlier titles focusing on such artists as Bacon, Chagall, Klee, and Matisse. The visual emphasis results in affordable supplements to better sources for biocritical information, like the Biographical Dictionary of Artists (Facts on File, 1995). Though not definitive, these two unique resources are highly recommended for all collections.?Douglas F. Smith, Oakland P.L., Cal.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

...late author and noted art critic Federico Zeri's engaging verve and expertise are cast easily within even a novice's grasp... -- Karen A. Wyckoff, ForeWord Magazine, October 2000

Parents wishing to instruct teen-agers about the world's great art works will find this series extremely useful -- Elisabeth Sherwin, The Davis (Calif.) Enterprise, March 4, 2001

The series offers a welcome update to older volumes... -- Sarah Raymond, Professionally Speaking: The Magazine of the Ontario College of Teachers, December 2000

This truly outstanding series, a bargain at $14.95 per book, deserves a place in any private, public, or school library -- Kimberly Hundley, Today's Librarian, November 2000 --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Taschen (August 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 3822859710
• ISBN-13: 978-3822859711
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #404,800 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #57 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Arts & Photography > Art > Art History > Regional

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An intensive exploration., July 7, 2003

By 

Tom Knapp "Rambles.NET editor" (Lancaster, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Munch: The Scream (One Hundred Paintings Series) (Hardcover)

This book is short, only 48 pages, but is packed with an incredible amount of information and art. Zeri has done a phenomenal job of encapsulating Munch's life and work in a single, easily digestible package, one from which admirers of "The Scream" and art enthusiasts in general can learn a great deal. I would love to explore other books in Zeri's series.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pack Your Suitcase ..., November 4, 2010

By 

Giordano Bruno (Wherever I am, I am.) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Edvard Munch: 1863-1944 (Basic Art) (Paperback)

... and get ready to travel if you aspire to 'know' the paintings of Edvard Munch (1863-1944). Looking over the reproductions in this small-format Taschen edition, you'll quickly notice that the large majority of them are in the museums of Oslo and Bergen, in the artist's native Norway. Yes, there are some very fine Munchs in Berlin, Lübeck, and Stuttgart, and a sampling in America. Few painters of the enormous stature of Edvard Munch, however, are so 'concentrated' in their homelands. But it's not inappropriate for Munch; it's as hard to comprehend Munch's vision without Norway as it is to comprehend modern Norway without Ibsen and Munch.

On the other hand, as you'll read in the text of this Taschen book, by Ulrich Bischoff, Edvard Much is generally perceived among art historians as the most significant "bridge" between the French post-impressionists and the German expressionists. That's the sort of insight one can draw from the plates in this book, some of which seem remarkably close to Cezanne and Monet while others leap forward over van Gogh to Kokoschka and Beckmann. Yet Munch is one of the most 'recognizable' of painters; it's rare to see a painting of his for the first time, across a gallery, without instantly identifying the artist. Chiefly that's because of his unique combination of the most formal vertical/horizontal axis compositions with the most informal, improvisational brushwork and his thin washes of color.

The utility of a book like this is limited, I think, to being an "aide to memory". If you've never seen at least a sample of Munch's paintings, you can't possibly imagine their impact from these little shiny pages. Munch was first a painter's painter, in terms of building an audience, but his paintings are less about Art than about Life. He himself grouped his works in what he called "Friezes of Life", and his themes were always the stages of life - childhood/youth/maturity/age - and the basic involvements of life - sexual intimacy/hostility, sickness, loneliness, and death. Munch seldom painted anything to be decorative. He sought emotional impact above all. Many of his paintings are fearsomely grim, to be honest about them, and dark and yes, depressing. But don't think you can "live without them" until you've had a chance to experience them.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars beautiful book, December 31, 2002

By 

Martine M. Seide (Miami, Florida United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Edvard Munch: 1863-1944 (Basic Art) (Paperback)

I fell in love with Munch when I saw one of his prints(the scream) at the Met museum in NYC, this is an amazing man with an amazing mind and an eye for color. the prints are beautiful in this book.