Oslo: Munch Museum opened in Norway – the building is controversial (video)

Oslo has a new museum. The Munch Museum, named after the man to whom it is dedicated, the Norwegian painter Edvard Munch. He was born in 1883 and died in 1944. Munch was considered a pioneer of expressionism in modern painting. The new museum shows a large part of his work. Museum director Stein Olav Henrichsen on how the works of art came into the possession of the city: “He was afraid of what the Nazis would do to him as an artist and also to his collection. As a result, he had two thirds of his entire work in his house in Oslo. He made the decision to bequeath it all to the city. ” Munch became world famous for his painting “The Scream”, which he painted in many different versions. Curator Trine Otte Bak Nielsen knows her way around: “Each and every one of us can find oneself in it. It is not clear whether the picture depicts a man or a woman. This directness and the strong colors are special. Figure and landscape merge into one very strong symbol. It is different from the rest of his work. ” And this rest is also groundbreaking enough to dedicate this building to him. For a long time it was considered controversial, because its unusual shape towers over all other public buildings around it, as well as several residential buildings. Nevertheless, after the opera and the library, the museum is considered to be the newest cultural jewel on the Oslo Fjord. Other art forms, such as performance, should also find a home there.