Munch : Un Poème D'amour, De Vie Et De Mort

Exhibition at the Musée d'Orsay, Paris, 20 September 2022 - 22 January 2023

The work of Munch (1863-1944) occupies a pivotal position in artistic modernity: it has its roots in the 19th century and is fully integrated into the following century. From the 1880s until his death, the artist's work was driven by a singular vision of the world, giving it a powerful symbolist dimension that cannot be reduced to the few masterpieces he created in the 1890s.

Munch's pictorial approach is mainly based on cycles in which the artist frequently expresses the idea that humanity and nature are inexorably united in the cycle of life, death and rebirth. In this context, he developed a novel iconography, largely inspired by vitalist philosophies, notably those of Friedrich Nietzsche and Henri Bergson.

This exhibition catalogue proposes a global reading of Munch's work, highlighting the great coherence of his creation, rather than opposing a fin-de-siècle symbolism to an expressionism that would anchor Munch in the modern scene.