BGuthrie Photos: DC -- Natl Gallery of Art -- West Wing -- Exhibit: Edvard Munch: Color in Context

DC -- Natl Gallery of Art -- West Wing -- Exhibit: Edvard Munch: Color in Context:

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Description of Pictures: Edvard Munch: Color in Context
September 3, 2017 – January 28, 2018
In the second half of the 19th century, advances in physics, electromagnetic radiation theory, and the optical sciences provoked new thought about the physical as well as the spiritual world. Aspects of that thought are revealed in Edvard Munch: Color in Context, an exhibition of 21 prints that considers the choice, combinations, and meaning of color in light of spiritualist principles. Informed by both popular manuals that explained the science of color and theosophical writings on the visual and physical power of color, Edvard Munch (1863–1944) created works that are not just strikingly personal, but charged with specific associations.
The exhibition is curated by Jonathan Bober, Andrew W. Mellon Senior Curator of Prints and Drawings, department of prints and drawings, National Gallery of Art, Washington, and Mollie Berger, curatorial assistant, department of prints and drawings, National Gallery of Art, Washington.

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[1] NGAMUN_171001_004.JPG	[2] NGAMUN_171001_005.JPG	[3] NGAMUN_171001_009.JPG
[4] NGAMUN_171001_013.JPG	[5] NGAMUN_171001_026.JPG	[6] NGAMUN_171001_029.JPG
[7] NGAMUN_171001_034.JPG	[8] NGAMUN_171001_047.JPG	[9] NGAMUN_171001_050.JPG
[10] NGAMUN_171001_056.JPG	[11] NGAMUN_171001_070.JPG	[12] NGAMUN_171001_072.JPG
[13] NGAMUN_171001_079.JPG	[14] NGAMUN_171001_087.JPG	[15] NGAMUN_171001_095.JPG
[16] NGAMUN_171001_102.JPG	[17] NGAMUN_171001_117.JPG	[18] NGAMUN_171001_119.JPG
[19] NGAMUN_171001_124.JPG	[20] NGAMUN_171001_132.JPG	[21] NGAMUN_171001_145.JPG
[22] NGAMUN_171001_148.JPG	[23] NGAMUN_171001_154.JPG	[24] NGAMUN_171001_160.JPG

Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. NGAMUN_171001_005.JPG: EDVARD MUNCH Color in Context EDVARD MUNCH (1863 – 1944), the Norwegian artist active in Paris and Berlin at the end of the nineteenth century, is famous for images that represent psychological states and give shape to subjective feeling. His use of color, essential to the visual impact and meaning of his prints, is generally regarded as highly personal. Without contradicting that interpretation, this exhibition places it in the context of the philosophical and pseudo-scientific movements of his time. Near the turn of the century, ideas about higher dimensional energies were being stimulated by breakthrough discoveries in electromagnetism, x-radiography, and physics. The scientific exploration of invisible matter and properties convinced members of the mystical movement known as theosophy that essential realities lie beyond the human senses. Such ideas implied a challenge to traditional artistic emphasis on naturalistic representation. Some artists used exaggerated or odd color in attempts to generate new meaning in their work. However, Munch went further than most in applying theosophical ideas to the choice and combination of color. At the end of the nineteenth century, essays on clairvoyance, mesmerism (hypnosis), and other metaphysical concepts appeared regularly in leading literary and artistic journals. Theosophists claimed that thoughts generated auras of colorful shapes, or "thought-forms," that could move through space: bright yellow connoted "highest intellect," dark purple suggested "devotion mixed with affection," and bright blue indicated "pure religious feeling." Even though Munch claimed to select his colors at random, he was immersed in the literature of the time and was certainly aware of theosophical concepts such as thought-forms radiating energy. His journal describes "colours that encircled [a woman's] head like a halo." A friend confirmed that the artist claimed he could see auras around people. Munch's awareness and artistic application of these ideas is especially evident in his prints. By virtue of its usually limited scale and multiplicity, the medium afforded him the greatest freedom to experiment with color. The palette of his prints is often even more subjective and supra-natural than that of his paintings. Moreover, he could vary colors dramatically from impression to impression -- and with them, literal shades of meaning. The exhibition is organized by the National Gallery of Art
2. NGAMUN_171001_009.JPG: Head by Head 1905
3. NGAMUN_171001_013.JPG: Crowds in a Square 1920
4. NGAMUN_171001_026.JPG: Anxiety 1896 The muted red could indicate many different meanings: avarice, anger, or pride. These intense emotions are echoed in the title, Anxiety . Munch's use of red, signifying strong feelings, adds a level of tension and unease to the composition. Compare this to the companion print -- also titled Anxiety -- on the other side of the doorway, with brighter, deeper red streaks in the sky.
5. NGAMUN_171001_029.JPG: Encounter in Space 1902 These two abstracted figures floating in the black atmosphere -- one in the color of devotion or sympathy (blue/green), the other in the color of pure affection (bright red) -- suggest theosophical notions of astral planes. The figures transcend and seem to be floating in a fourth-dimensional plane, outside of the physical world.
6. NGAMUN_171001_034.JPG: Young Man and Woman in the Fir Forest 1915
7. NGAMUN_171001_047.JPG: Man's Head in Woman's Hair 1896 It is unclear whether the woman is imagined by the man, or if the man's head floating in the woman's hair is a figment of her mind. Recalling the theosophical concept of thought-forms, the woman's brown and orange coloration, indicating selfishness and sensuality, is paired with the light green of the man, meaning sympathy. Perhaps she is thinking of him sympathetically, or he is recalling a woman he encountered. One figure conjures the image of the other, producing the image of the thought.
8. NGAMUN_171001_056.JPG: Female Nude 1896
9. NGAMUN_171001_070.JPG: Madonna 1895 The dark blue, relating to religious states of mind, swirls around the figure and gives her an aura of spiritual energy. The waves of blue radiate away from her, as if she is some otherworldly being. Munch used a contrasting dark orange as background to the sperm and fetus in the border, perhaps denoting the earthly, physical realm.
10. NGAMUN_171001_072.JPG: Female Nude in an Interior 1896
11. NGAMUN_171001_079.JPG: Old Man Praying 1902 According to literature on theosophy and color, bright yellow signifies highest intellect, thoughtfulness, and contemplation. Other sources describe the feeling of this color as akin to light, or God. The choice of yellow is thus befitting for a scene showing a man in deep prayer and reflection.
12. NGAMUN_171001_087.JPG: The Vampire 1895 Munch added yellow to the face of the man and the arm of the woman in this retouched proof before the final printing of the composition, adding an essence of highest intellect, according to theosophical theories of color. By giving the two figures feelings of intelligence or consciousness, perhaps Munch meant to suggest that the vampiric act depicted here is one of loving embrace rather than savage attack. Munch's original title for the composition was Love and Pain.
13. NGAMUN_171001_095.JPG: Girl with the Heart 1899
14. NGAMUN_171001_102.JPG: Self-Portrait 1895 As important as vibrant colors were to Munch, the absence of color plays an equally critical role. Black provides stark contrast to the creamy-colored head and skeletal arm, which are the only discernible forms in this composition. The x-ray, a wavelength of electromagnetic radiation, was discovered in 1895 by Wilhelm Conrad R�ntgen. With this new wavelength that could penetrate the skin, expose the bones beneath, and print that image on a plate, people realized how limited human senses truly are. This discovery furthered theosophical notions that there are forces beyond what can be perceived.
15. NGAMUN_171001_117.JPG: Anxiety 1896
16. NGAMUN_171001_119.JPG: Melancholy III (Evening; On the Beach) 1901
17. NGAMUN_171001_124.JPG: Melancholy (Woman on the Shore) 1898
18. NGAMUN_171001_132.JPG: Moonlight I 1896
19. NGAMUN_171001_145.JPG: Girl's Head Against the Shore 1899 The contrasting colors of bluish green and reddish orange in the landscape may allude to specific feelings. The green could signify sympathy and the orange, sensuality. The light brown for the woman's face may denote selfishness. Perhaps these feelings are for someone the woman had lost. Munch repeated the use of brown for coloring the woman in Kiss on the Hair, opposite this print, and Man's Head in Woman's Hair, in the next room.
20. NGAMUN_171001_148.JPG: The Sin 1902 The green eyes of the woman are piercing and striking. According to theosophical literature, this pure green color signifies "the wish to be all things to all men." The woman's body is exposed, and while she seems alluring, her gaze off to the left side of the composition avoids direct eye contact with the viewer, leaving her as an object to behold and examine.
21. NGAMUN_171001_160.JPG: Kiss on the Hair 1910s
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