Both of the paintings by famed Norwegian artist Edvard Munch that were stolen two years ago have been found and are now in the possession of the police in Oslo.
Oslo police could finally report the recovery of two Munch masterpieces stolen on August 22, 2004.
Both The Scream and Madonna were found Thursday afternoon in what police described as a “successful action” by the Oslo Police District.
Police wouldn’t say where the famed artworks were found, but said they think the paintings have been in Norway all along.
The paintings are, according to police, in much better shape than they had feared.
Intriguingly, it appears that the paintings’ robbery may have been planned only to distract police from Norway’s biggest ever armed robbery, in which a police officer was killed during a street gun-battle. A man convicted with respect to that robbery is believed to have masterminded both heists, and was reportedly attempting to negotiate a sentence reduction in return for helping police find the Munch paintings.
Apparently when the Scream was first stolen in 1994 from the Oslo Musuem, attendances increased the days following the news as all these people came into to stare at the empty space where the Scream had hung. Because of this the musuem erected a poster replication, until Scotland Yard recovered the painting. But considering all the reproductions there are of the Scream (and Munch himself did several varied versions) what does this say about Walter Benjamin’s thesis of the age of mechanical reproduction, is there an authentic scream (even if Munch’s painting was originally titled “Despair”)?
Nothing like a good old fashioned art heist to capture the imagination!
Just in case anyone was keen: – Brisbane art/justice lovers may be interested in the SIEV X exhibition, remembering those who drowned, by artist Kate Durham – (whose partner is Julian Burnside btw)
Fri 1st Sept from 6pm
Jugglers galleries
103 Brunswick st Fortitude Valley
(up the RNA/RBH side of brunswick st.)
Thanks for the headsup, tanja.
Didn’t know there were galleries on the dodgy end of Brunswick St!
And pleased to hear about Munch!
Actually sorry I was out when you posted the link – otherwise I would have come to the opening.
Do come back and tell us
(a) What the exhibition was like;
(b) How good the free wine was!
I forget which opening it was, but there was one at the Powerhouse I went to last year where some Qld government sponsorship meant the only free grog served was Queensland wines. While there are some that are drinkable, the ones that they picked were… well, anyway, I ended up paying for WA wine despite the free grog on offer!