Munch: Art Masters Series

by Steffen Kverneland

Overview

In Munch, writer and artist Steffen Kverneland brings the story of one of the world’s most influential painters to vivid life. This extraordinary, inventive graphic novel uses text drawn exclusively from the quotes of Edvard Munch and his contemporaries. Filled with authenticity and life, Munch debunks the familiar myth of the half-mad expressionist painter—anguished, starving, and ill-treated—and draws out his neglected sense of humor and optimism. Born out of a lifelong fascination with Munch’s life and work, Kverneland’s seven-year project is a landmark of graphic biography and the funniest, most entertaining portrait yet of a complex man and the pioneering artist behind The Scream.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781910593127
Publisher:	ABRAMS
Publication date:	05/10/2016
Series:	Art Masters
Pages:	280
Product dimensions:	7.50(w) x 10.30(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Steffen Kverneland is an award-winning comics artist. He is the author of biographies of Henrik Ibsen and Olaf Gulbransson, among many other books. He lives in Norway.

Editorial Reviews

03/14/2016
Yet another stunning graphic biography originally published Europe, in this case Munch’s native Norway, is now released in English. Norwegian artist Kverneland tells the story of Munch’s relationship with August Strindberg, his abiding passion for the women who served as his muses, and his succession of great masterworks, including The Sick Child, Madonna, and, of course, The Scream. Kverneland’s treatment—which took him seven years to complete—is a fantastic visual spectacle, mixing vividly colored caricature with cubism, often in the same panel. Interspersed with black-and-white, monochromatic, and full-color illustrations are photographs featuring Kverneland’s many narrative intrusions. The story itself moves among narrators: Kverneland attempts to tell it exclusively in the words of those who experienced it firsthand. The result is a brilliant graphic biography that uses a distinctive visual style to explore the work of a great artist. (May)

Publishers Weekly

★ 07/01/2016
Norwegian artist Edvard Munch (1863–1944), a tireless self-promoter infamous for the much parodied The Scream, created impressionistic images of suffering, dialyzed through emotion and memories of personal traumas. Relatives died young, colleagues went mad, romances turned sour, illnesses sapped his stamina. Yet caught up in the passionate indulgences of the fin-de-siècle art world, he found solace, distraction, and inspiration from both friends and enemies, alcohol-soaked nightlife, and willing women. Kverneland (Olaf G.) captures his subject through a kaleidoscope of art styles: realism, cubism, impressionism, pictures derivative of Munch's paintings, straight caricature, photos—all intercut with mocking depictions of Kverneland himself with fellow cartoonist Lars Fisk as they carouse and debate Munch's legacy. Oddly, few details concern the artist's last 25 years, perhaps seen as less interesting than his more colorful decades. Kverneland's skill at infusing Munch's own techniques and imagery into the biography is extraordinary, and the stories behind the controversial paintings are fascinating and wryly funny. VERDICT A real treat for older teens and adults interested in modern art and the cultural transition to modernism.—MC

Library Journal