Oslo seeks ways to accommodate Edward Munch’s legacy

In 2013, the 150th anniversary of the expressionist master, the author of such familiar and iconic paintings as Scream, will be celebrated. But the upcoming anniversary is already overshadowed by the fact that the Oslo authorities are unable to ensure the proper placement of the masterpieces of world painting that the artist left to the city on his will. Munch, who died in 1944, bequeathed a huge collection of his works to the Norwegian capital, including 1,100 paintings, 3,000 drawings and 18,000 etchings.

But the current Munch Museum, built shortly after World War II on the outskirts of Oslo, is in rather poor condition. “The time has come to move the museum to a more modern building, which will allow us to receive more visitors and show Munch’s work from other points of view, in a wider context,” said museum director Stein Olav Henrichsen. And, although everyone agrees that the museum needs to improve the "housing" conditions, the disagreements on this issue have not allowed to resolve it so far.

In 2008, the Oslo City Council expressed its readiness to erect a museum next to the futuristic building of the new opera, on the shores of the Oslo Fjord, but these plans were canceled three years later and recognized as populist, without a specific project. This step plunged society into shock and embarrassment, as one Spanish architectural firm had already prepared a project for a super-modern glass building, while spending a large amount of money.

Since then, the situation around the new museum building has come to a standstill. Some suggest returning to the Spanish concept, others - consider it sufficient to carry out major repairs in the existing building. The average cost of projects is estimated at 1.6 billion NOK (215 million euros, 285 million dollars).

The inability to reach agreement is interpreted by some as a complete disregard for the heritage of the famous artist of global significance. Millions of people recently visited the Munch exhibition, which toured in Paris, Frankfurt and London. And one of the four versions of Scream, the only one in private hands, was sold last year at a New York auction for a record amount of $ 119.9 million.

For comparison, the Munch Museum in Oslo attracts about 126,000 visitors a year, despite the fact that its collection contains two versions of The Scream and many other unique paintings. And the point is not only that the museum itself is located in a dilapidated building. “I don’t think that Norwegians really understand the power of Edward Munch’s work,” says Henriksen. “Its cultural and economic significance is greatly underestimated here.”

The descendants of the artist, meanwhile, insist on an early resolution of the museum issue. His great-great-niece, Elisabeth Munch Ellingsen, called the situation "shameful and scandalous." “It is a shame that local politicians still cannot find a solution. When they decided to qualify for the Winter Olympics, it took them only five minutes, ”she said.

Ellingsen sent a letter to the Norwegian government asking her to intervene, but to no avail. Culture Minister Hadia Tajik replied that Munch bequeathed his collection to the city, not the state.

And despite the fact that the portrait of Munch is depicted on the largest “bill” in Norway at 1000 kroons, this is not the first time that the artist’s legacy has been so mistreated. In 1960, the artist’s house was destroyed in Oslo, which he also bequeathed to the city, and a parking lot was built in its place. Sometimes it seems that the only ones who truly appreciate the artist in Norway are thieves. Two versions of The Scream were abducted in 1994 and 2004. Both paintings were later returned.

Anna Sidorova