Edvard Munch

(1863-1944)

He was born in Norway in 1863, and was raised in Christiania (known as Oslo today).

He was related to famous painters and artists in their own right, Jacob Munch (painter), and Peter
Munch (historian).

Only a few years after he was born, Edvard Munch's mother died of tuberculosis in 1868, and he
was raised by his father.

Note: Edvard's father suffered of mental illness, and this played a role in the way he and his
siblings were raised. Their father raised them with the fears of deep seated issues, which is part of
the reason why the work of Edvard Munch took a deeper tone, and why the artist was known
to have so many repressed emotions as he grew up.

In 1885, Edvard Munch traveled to Paris, and was extremely influenced by impressionism
artists Claude Monet, Edouard Manet, and followed by the post-impressionism artists Van Gogh,
Paul Cezanne, and Gauguin.

From about 1892, to 1908, Munch split most of his time between Paris and Berlin; it was in 1909
that he decided to return to his hometown, and go back to Norway.

Note: During this period, much of the work that was created by Edvard Munch depicted his interest
in nature, and it was also noted that the tones and colors that he used in these pieces, did add
more color, and seemed a bit more cheerful, than most of the previous works he had created in
years past. The pessimistic under toning which was quite prominent in much of his earlier works,
had faded quite a bit, and it seems he took more of a colorful, playful, and fun tone with the pieces
that he was creating, as opposed to the dark and somber style which he tended to work with earlier
on during the course of his career.

From this period, up to his death, Edvard Munch remained in Norway, and much of his work that
was created from this period on, seemed to take on the similar, colorful approach which he had
adopted, since returning home in 1909.

Is best known as being a Norwegian born, expressionist painter, and printer.

In the late 20th century, he played a great role in German expressionism, and the art form that later
followed; namely because of the strong mental anguish that was displayed in many of the pieces
that he created.

A majority of the works which Edvard Munch created were referred to as the style known as
symbolism.

Note: This is mainly because of the fact that the paintings he made focused on the internal view of the
objects, as opposed to the exterior, and what the eye could see. Symbolist painters believed that art
should reflect an emotion or idea rather than represent the natural world in the objective, quasi-
scientific manner embodied by Realism and Impressionism. In painting, Symbolism represents a
synthesis of form and feeling, of reality and the artist's inner subjectivity.

Many of Munch's works depict life and death scenes, love and terror, and the feeling of loneliness
were often a feeling which viewers would note that his work patterns focused on.

Note: These emotions were depicted by the contrasting lines, the darker colors, blocks of color,
somber tones, and a concise and exaggerated form, which depicted the darker side of the art which he
was designing.
 Munch is often and rightly compared with Van Gogh, who was one of the first artists to paint what
the French artist called "the mysterious centers of the mind.

Edvard Munch passed away in 1944, in a small town which was just outside of his home town in
Oslo.

Upon his death, the works which he had created, were not given to family, but they were instead
donated to the Norwegian government, and were placed in museums, in shows, and in various
local public buildings in Norway.

Note: In fact, after his death, more than 1000 paintings which Edvard Munch had created were
donated to the government. In addition to the paintings that he had created during the course of his
career, all other art forms he created were also donated to the government. A total of 15,400 prints
were donated, 4500 drawings and water color art was donated, and six sculptures which Edvard
Munch had created, were all turned over to the Oslo government, and were used as display pieces in
many locations.

Due to the fact that all of this work which Edvard Munch had created, was donated to the Norwegian
government, the country decided to build the Munch Museum of Art. This was done to commemorate
his work, his life, and the generosity which he showed, in passing his art work over to the government,
so that it could be enjoyed by the general public, rather than be kept locked up by the family. Although
the art which he did donate, was spread throughout a number of museums and art exhibits, a majority
of them were kept in Oslo. And, most of the works which were donated by Munch, were placed in the
Munch Museum of Art, to commemorate the work he did, as well as the unique style, and the distinct
movements which he introduced to the world, through the creations which he had crafted.

The Sick Child, 1885

The Sick Child (Norwegian: Det Syke Barn) records a moment before the death of his older sister
Johanne Sophie (1862 - 1877) from tuberculosis at 15. Munch returned to this deeply traumatic event
again and again in his art, over six completed oil paintings and many studies in various media, over a
period of more than 40 years. In the works, Sophie is typically shown on her deathbed accompanied by
a dark-haired, grieving woman assumed to be her aunt Karen; the studies often show her in a cropped
head shot. In all the painted versions Sophie is lying in a bed, obviously suffering from pain, propped by
a large white pillow, looking towards an ominous curtain likely intended as a symbol of death. She is
shown with a haunted expression, clutching hands with a grief-stricken older woman who seems to
want to comfort her but whose head is bowed as if she cannot bear to look the younger girl in the eye.

Throughout his career, Munch often returned to and created several variants of his paintings. The Sick
Child became for Munch - who nearly died from tuberculosis himself as a child - a means to record
both his feelings of despair and g uilt that he had been the one to survive and to confront his feelings of
loss for his late sister. He became obsessive with the image, and during the decades that followed he
created numerous versions in a variety of formats. The six painted works were executed over a period
of more than 40 years, using a number of different models.
Death on the Sickroom, 1895

Reverting to the theme of the death of Sophie, Munch produced a work very different from The Sick
Child. Now the whole family is shown, and the emphasis shifts from the experience of the dying girl to
that of the mourning relatives. The child sits facing diagonally to the rear, largely invisible both to us
and to all the mourners except her praying father; she is already absent from their lives. What we do
see of her is partly transparent, as though she were already beginning to dematerialize. Each of the
mourners reacts differently and there is no intercourse among them; confronted with the loneliness of
death, each retreats into his or her lonely self. The younger sister Laura, in the extreme foreground, is
the only other figure seated, in a profile pose of sorrowful meditation. Possibly her position echoing that
of her sister indicates that she too was destined to suffer at an early age from an incurable illness,
though mental instead of physical. Or perhaps the whole scene behind her pictures her distorted
memory of the terrifying event. The painting is very much in Munch's version of the synthetist style -
flattened areas enclosed by strong contours. The receding floorboards converge towards different
vanishing points approximately on a horizontal axis, thus flouting naturalistic perspective. This has the
effect of both flattening and widening the room.

By The Death Bed, 1896

"Illness, madness and death were the black angels that watched over my cradle and have since
followed me through life," Munch wrote in his notes, almost as an explanation for all the death-related
motifs that were to form a large, significant part of his pictorial world.

The second half of the 19th century witnessed a turn in artistic thematics and mode of expression. With
the advent of realism in the 1870s and 1880s, everyday life in society, along with its darker sides, were
preferred to the more idealising depictions of people and landscapes of Romanticism.

Consumption and tuberculosis were among the frightening illnesses of the age, and a favourite motif
for contemporary visual art. Most families were affected in one way or other by these disease. Munch
experienced the disease twice among those closest to him, and on one occasion he too was struck
down by it: "One Christmas Eve, when 13 years old, I lie in my bed. The blood trickles from my mouth -
the fever rages in my veins - fear cries out deep within me. Now, now, in just a moment, you will meet
your Maker and be sentenced for eternity."i The horror and the impressions from his mother's death in
1868, when he was five years old, shook him and the family. Now he himself could feel the fever
rampaging through his body, and his chances of a future were in jeopardy. In particular, the death of
his sister, Sofie, at the age of 15 in 1877 left ineradicable traces in his soul, but were also to lay the
foundation for a number of his major works.

Despite the fact that illness and death were frequent motifs in contemporary art, Munch's painting met
with considerable resistance when he exhibited By the Death Bed in 1896 - and some people even
tried to question the mental state of the artist. His simplification of form, choice of colours and intensity
were extremely alien and incomprehensible to many.
 Jose Pitok Blanco
The patriarch of the Blanco family
In 1971, he abandoned advertising in ordered to pursue painting as his professional work and
gained as a full-time artist.
He supervised to use earthly colors to show a more realistic style and picture.
In 1978, the Blancos family has their first painting exhibition in National Museum and carried the
inverted fish locally called Bunggan, which eventually became the Blanco family logo.
Beside of his positive works, he can also paint dark subjects. Like The Burning of Angono
shows the memory of the Japanese occupation, when the people of Angono watch their town
burns.
Blanco fame was not only in the Angono and Philippines. He and his family were invited to
Xiamen, China to exhibit there.
Art critic Allice Guillermo called Blanco's style "folk realism." Notable for the graphic perspective
of the work as well as earthy colors.
One of his artwork is his own version of The Last Supper.
Blanco became known for his murals about the Angono life.
The Rockefeller Foundation of New York obtained his "Pag-ahon ng Pagoda," a depiction of the
fluvial parade in connection with the San Clemente fiesta, in the 1970s.
He also painted the tragic that theyve been through.
He dies of heart attack at the age of 76.

Bunggan
In 1978, the Blancos had their first painting exhibition at the National Museum and carried the
inverted fish locally called Bunggan, as the familys insignia, which eventually became the
Blanco Familys official logo. It was inspired by a name called to their great grandfather, Juan,
who was a fisherman by trade. Juans friends saw the short and stout fisherman sleeping in a
small boat wherein only his tummy was visible. The figure of Juan resembles a bloated dead fish,
thus, being punned a Bunggan.

Angono Fishermen Festival

Embedded on maestros paintings are his and the familys personal experiences portrayed by
folk traditions, festivities or cultural events. Also incorporated in his paintings are characters of
real people, including his family, and some real-life incidents that occurred in his beloved
hometown, Angono. He captivated the viewers with his masterful skill in painting realistic shades
of shadows and highlights that gives volume to a two dimensional canvass. In addition, the tones
and palettes he used provoke a strong feeling that sets the mood of the painting. Both elements
make the image pop out of the frame

The Burning of Angono

shows the memory of the Japanese occupation, when the people of Angono watch
their town burns.