The Symbolist Prints of Edvard Munch: The Vivian and David Campbell Collection
Category: Books,Arts & Photography,Graphic Design
The Symbolist Prints of Edvard Munch: The Vivian and David Campbell Collection Details
Amazon.com Review The artwork in The Symbolist Prints of Edvard Munch is so beautifully reproduced that one might be tempted to tear out pages, frame them and hang them on the wall. Munch's work, which constitutes some of the 20th century's greatest printmaking, is presented through the lens of an extraordinary private collection that includes almost every one of his prints along with alternate versions and early sketches. Elizabeth Prelinger's essays provide background on Munch's life, printmaking techniques, and the development of his symbolist aesthetic. An exciting element of the book is an evocative essay by renowned critic, Peter Schjeldahl, who, in inimitable style, likens Munch's effect on the viewer to that of listening to the early work of a favorite rock-star. Published on the occasion of an exhibit at the Art Gallery of Ontario in early 1997, this book provides excellent documentation of an artist whose work remains vital more than fifty years after his death. Read more From Library Journal Published as the catalog for an exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ontario, this is an attractive and thoughtful consideration of early prints by the Norwegian painter and graphic artist Edvard Munch (1863-1944). The 59 exhibited prints, all from a private collection, provide the armature for three essays. Prelinger's essay on Symbolism and graphic techniques explores a theme also found in her Edvard Munch: Master Printmaker (1983. o.p.); Michael Parke-Taylor discusses the reception of Munch's sometimes difficult work in America; and art critic Peter Schjeldahl provides a poetic appreciation. Somewhat narrower in scope than the catalog for the 1990 exhibition at the National Gallery ("Edvard Munch: Master Prints from the Epstein Family Collection," National Gallery of Art), yet with accessible text and excellent illustrations, this is highly recommended for general collections as well as for specialists.?Jack Perry Brown, Art Inst. of Chicago Lib.Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. Read more See all Editorial Reviews
Reviews
After Gerd Woll's Herculean "Complete Prints," his is perhaps the best of the lot in the literature on Munch's prints. Particularly insightful and - for this collector - unique are the reproductions of the original blocks, with detailed explanations on Munch's unique and complex assembly and execution of his wholly original "jigsaw" woodcuts in all their variations. Essential literature of Munch's print oeuvre. The Epstein collection is endlessly fascinating, and the day will not come when we stop mining this trove for new insight.