The exhibition "Magic of the North" at the Berlinische Galerie tells the story of Edvard Munch and Berlin, illustrated by around 80 paintings, prints and photographs.
Edvard Munch challenged his contemporaries with the radical modernity of his paintings - especially in Berlin, where the Norwegian symbolist was a major influence at the turn of the century.
The German capital was gripped by an enthusiasm for all things Nordic. Even the Berlin Artists' Association invited the young, still unknown artist to hold an exhibition in 1892. Viewers were shocked by the bright colors and perceived the paintings as sketchy. Munch was pleased by this attention. He moved to Berlin and lived in the city on and off between 1892 and 1907.
On the banks of the Spree, Munch's works gave the starting signal for modern art and changed conventional ways of thinking about the "magic of the North". Romantic and naturalistic notions of fjord landscapes gave way to the psychological density of Munch's pictorial cosmos. During the Nazi dictatorship from 1933, the painter was initially celebrated by cultural politicians as a "great Nordic artist", only to become an early victim of the defamation campaign against "degenerate art".
© Benjamin Lucks
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