Edvard Munch : between the clock and the bed
(Book - Regular Print)

This catalogue is published in conjunction with "Edvard Munch: Between the Clock and the Bed," on view at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art from June 24 through October 9, 2017; the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, from November 14, 2017, through February 4, 2018; and the Munch Museum, Oslo, from May 12 through September 9, 2018.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

This engaging book offers a fresh look at the exceptional works of Edvard Munch (1863-1944) by examining them in the light of his precarious mental state. Following a nervous breakdown in 1908, Munch underwent electroshock therapy, which prompted a marked change in his art work. The haunting Self-Portrait between the Clock and the Bed, finished one year before his death, represents a culmination of the themes of mortality, isolation, and anxiety that he explored repeatedly, and provides, in these pages, a perfect lens through which to view the artist's entire oeuvre. Informative essays consider Munch's position in the art world, his conception of self as a means of experimentation, and the psychological content of his paintings, while a previously unpublished foreword by the celebrated Norwegian novelist Karl Ove Knausgaard offers a new perspective on Munch's life and work. Featuring over 40 masterworks from throughout the painter's career, and an illustrated chronology that traces the progression of his emotional state and its influence on the images he created, this is an intimate, provocative study of an enigmatic artist and his remarkable legacy.

Exhibited: San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (June 24-October 9, 2017; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (November 14, 2017-February 4, 2018); Munch Museum, Oslo (May 12-September 9, 2018).