Can you imagine a world where the painting in your grand foyer
is perhaps more expensive than the house itself? A world where many
of lifes answers, strengths and soothing elements can be drawn from
simply looking at an array of dancing strokes of paint? Well this
might be the very case for one lucky and deep-pocketed individual
who set a world record on May 2nd, 2012 for the purchase of a true
iconic work of art.
Edvard Munchs world-famous The Scream painting has been seen by
all, recreated by some and even has been the humorous depiction
within movies and even Halloween. A painting created in 1895, the
one that just sold is seen as the most precious and expensive out
of the four versions Munch painted in his lifetime. A world-record
setting sales price of $119.9 Million was received from an
anonymous telephone bidder, who rightfully should keep his name out
of the press! Bidding started at $40 Million and the anticipated
sales price was estimated to be roughly $80 Million; a figure was
undoubtedly soon blown out of the room.
It seems only fitting for such a famously perplexing piece of
art that it once again defies the odds and becomes yet again
unexpected with this value an individual put on it. It is still
uncertain what the winning bidder wishes to do with the painting,
but it is sure to be a hot topic for art enthusiasts and Munch
followers around the world over the next few months.
As the painting was spun in from a rotating wall and proudly
fronted by two men, it was only viewed for a mere twelve minutes
upon which the final bid of the aforementioned $119.9 Million was
accepted by the Sothebys auctioneer. Out of the four creations of
The Scream, this one even includes a hand-painted frame where Munch
wrote a poem with such excerpts describing the figure as shivering
with anxiety and sensing the great scream in nature. The sheer
shock and awe that must have engulfed this auction room was
reportedly immense, as one can only imagine.
It must have felt as though onlookers were passed back through
time, were in the presence of not only an inspiring, mysterious and
revolutionary painting but were in front of an almost Godly, out of
body presence. Now formerly owned by Norwegian businessman Petter
Olsen, his father was actually a friend of Munchs. This momentous
occasion will see the money Olsen has earned from this sale go
towards funding a new art center, hotel and museum in the town of
Hvitsten in Norway where his father and Edvard Munch lived one time
as neighbors.
A piece as such is so special in that it can mean numerous
things to any individual on any given day, moment or glance into
the eyes of that ghostly-looking figure. That is what makes it so
great and timeless. Art historians have long searched for its one
true meaning and yet throughout the years the meaning truly is in
the eye of the beholder, as it always should and will be. The same
sense of an unknown aura is evident within the glancing stare of
The Mona Lisa as well. It is only the painting of The Mona Lisa
that is seen as potentially more valuable worldwide than this
superior version of The Scream if it too came to auction for sale
one day.
Maybe Petter Olsen would be able to interpret it best in his
final interaction with the artwork as the owner. As he stared
deeply into the painting for one of the last times before the sale,
Olsen declared, For me, it shows the horrifying moment when man
realizes his impact on nature and the irreversible changes that he
has initiated, making the planet increasingly uninhabitable. An
inkling as such that could possibly come from Munch back in the
late 1800s is what makes it increasingly shocking if this vision
about our damaging place and deepening footprint on the Earth was
already a clear vision. This is inevitably foreshadowing to the
core. Agree or disagree with Olsen, there is surely something to be
learned from this statement. We can all draw a great deal of
self-reflection when looking at this infamous piece of artwork,
forever pondering in our own unique and private moments.
Please do not hesitate to look below for more details as well as
the video of the sale of The Scream.