By Cara Sulieman
SCOTLAND has been lined up to be the last place that a legendary masterpiece is shown outside of its home country.
The Hunterian Art Gallery in Glasgow is getting ready to host a loan exhibition of Edvard Munch’s lithographs – including a black and white print of his most famous work The Scream.
And it will be the last time the print of the famous artwork will be see outside of Norway as the Hunterian is the last gallery to get it on loan.
Masterpieces
The honour comes with the first major exhibition of Munch’s print work in the UK with many of his masterpieces appearing in print form.
The Scream is by far the artist’s most famous work and hit the headlines in 2004 when armed thieves from the Munch Museum in Norway stole a painted version of it.
Munch made various versions of his most famous work in different mediums – there are two paintings, two pastels and one lithograph print in existence.
Madonna
It is the print that will be seen in Scotland for the last time this June.
As well as the iconic print, the exhibition will also contain a number of Munch’s other works in their print form.
Included is a print of the controversial Madonna – portraying the Virgin Mother in the act of intercourse.
The painting of this was stolen alongside The Scream from the Munch Museum in 2004.
In total there will be forty of the Expressionist’s print and the show has been designed to illustrate the development and important themes of his art.
Although Munch is most famous for his paintings, prints were an important aspect of his art as they provided a good publicity opportunity.
Berlin 1894
He used a variety of methods including lithograph, woodcut and etching to create the works.
The Norwegian artist began making prints in Berlin in 1894 as a last resort for publicising his paintings.
And it was his prints that provided an income for the artist and gained him influential friends in the art world.
Tweaks and changes
Although there are many different versions of each work, every one is slightly different – reflecting the constant tweaks and changes Munch made to his work.
Other prints on display will be the striking ‘Self-portrait’ lithograph and the atmospheric woodcut ‘Melancholy’.
The exhibition Edvard Munch: Prints is on from 12 June – 5 September 2009 at the Hunterian Art Gallery in Glasgow and admission is free.
