Edvard Munch Has Much More Punch than a Scream - Must See Show at Met Breur

For those who have lived under a rock, Munch's painting "The Scream" is an iconic image with imitation emoijis.  If you think there's anguish in Munch's psyche you'll be convinced by the many macabre subject matters he paints.  And, you'll perceive Munch (b Norway 1863-1944) as much more than a one painting anomaly.  The dark & macabre motif paintings "Sickness and Death" include paintings of his mother who died of tuberculosis & his beloved older sister who died in her teens.  Both women died when he was a young boy.  "Diseases, insanity, and death were the angels that attended my cradle, and since then have followed me throughout my life." He was an artist full of angst and genius.  The large scale portraits are haunting and mesmerizing.  The galleries have numerous self-portraits made during different periods in his life.  "Self-Portrait With Cigarette" (1895) shows a young Munch mystically appearing out of a dark background with a baffled, uncomprehending stare.  In his later self-portrait "Between the Clock and the Bed" (1940-43) he is a rigid figure standing still in the doorway to a bedroom next to a grandfather clock as if blending in as a piece of furniture.  But, "Self-Portrait in Hell" (1903) is most telling.  Here he is poised nude, his body pale.  His figure divides the painting with mahogany shades on one side and flaming reds on the other casting a red glow on his apprehensive face.  He emotes an acceptance of pending purgatory.  Munch pays homage to Van Gogh's "Starry Night".  He painted a vivid portrait of himself lying in bed, bleeding profusely from his hand while a perplexed female is seated next to him.  He self-inflicted a gun wound after a torrid affair ended.  Still, there are rich landscapes that are serene and enchanting.  "Nature is not only all that is visible to the eye, it also includes the inner pictures of the soul." I favored the paintings where the faces are blurred and figures appear to be withdrawing from view.  As much as Munch battled his demons of depression, drinking and poor physical health, the exhibition is not oppressive.  One comes away appreciating the artist's mastery of color who doesn't shy away from agony, angst and nature's bounties.