“Ibsen and the Frieze of Life!”, The Frieze of Life, and The Genesis of the Frieze of Life, by Edvard Munch

ABSTRACT

For the history of art, the writings of artists are important documentary references. Here, I present an annotated translation of three texts by Edvard Munch (1863-1944), that are related to the history of the elaboration of his best-known works, as well as their respective exhibitions: the manuscript “Ibsen and the Frieze of Life!” (undated) and the subsequent texts, based on it, The Frieze of Life (1918) and The Genesis of the Frieze of Life (1928), which served as a presentation for the exhibition The Frieze of Life. This exhibition brought together the greater part of Munch’s works and was his life’s artistic project; thus, such texts give the artist a voice and make it possible to better interpret and understand his work.. These texts also show how artists can be theoretical references for the study of their works.

Keywords:
History of Art; Edvard Munch; digital collection of the Munch Museum; artist’s manuscript; artistic exhibition booklets