The Story of Edvard Munch

A fascinating literary construction of the life of one of the world's most popular 19th century painters which is based on Munch's own diaries, notes and letters. His troubled relationships, particularly with the opposite sex, are well documented as is his nervous disposition which complicated his entire existence and these aspects of his life are admirably brought alive by the author. Illustrated.

“""This is a wonderfully vivid recreation of Munch's life. It lets us enter his world far more intensely than a conventional biography . . . building into a dazzling tapestry which has the weight and inevitability of myth." --Daily Mail”

"Enthralling. Bjornstad succeeds in making immediate not only a life but also an epoch." - Suddeutsche Zeitung

KETIL BJORNSTAD is a Norwegian jazz pianist and composer with over 30 albums and 20 books to his credit. The latter include a biography of the composer Edvard Grieg, as well as a number of internationally best-selling novels.

Using Edvard Munch's own letters and diaries, those of his contemporaries and friends, and newspapers and journals of the time, this literary biography presents a picture of the artist as unsparing and true as any of his self-portraits. Damaged in childhood by appalling family tragedies, the Norwegian painter was obsessed with sickness, insanity, and death. His tortured and shockingly personal art, while at first provoking outrage, eventually gained him fame, wealth, and the respect of the art establishment that had previously shunned him. In reconstructing Munch's life, the author has incorporated the artist's public work and private words to make a dark, revelatory biography that reads like a novel.

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.