In 1889 Munch moved to Paris, where he met with the new directions in painting - the emerging post-impressionism and modernism. In 1892 the artist participated in a big exhibition in Berlin, but his paintings were met with hostility. In Germany, Munch mastered the techniques of etching, in Paris, experimented with lithography, and woodcut, which is widely used characteristic of Gauguin's reception underscores the texture of wood. In the engraving and lithography Munch embodied the same plots as in painting, but with much more energy, strength and originality. His engravings - perhaps the highest achievement of the master.
The theme has become central in the work of Munch, - relations between men and women. Woman in his work appears in various manifestations: as an idealized image of the girl as the personification of erotic femininity or as a clairvoyant, overbearing mother-death.
In 1908, having reached a wide fame and popularity in Norway, Munch suffered severe emotional distress caused by alcoholism and bitter quarrels with friends. After spending eight months in a sanatorium near Copenhagen, he returned to Norway and settled in a suburb of Oslo. Sale of prints and large orders for monumental decoration of public buildings provided Munch stable income. He continued to paint on themes developed in his youth, and a more tranquil landscapes until his death on Jan. 23, 1944 in Enem, near Oslo.
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