MUNCH IN NEW FRAMES

In its current exhibition MASTERPIECES ON THE MOVE – MUNCH IN NEW FRAMES http://munchmuseet.no/de/ausstellungen/neue-rahmen-f%C3%BCr-munch, the Munch Museum in Oslo, Norway, is presenting the reframing project for the works of Edvard Munch until May 6th, 2018. In June 2020, the Munch Museum in Oslo will move into its newly constructed building directly on Oslo Harbour next to the famous Oslo Opera House. In preparation for the opening, Munch’s artwork is getting new frames. Werner Murrer is well known for his passion for historical frames. It was Murrer’s https://www.murrer-rahmen.de/blog/2018/neue-rahmen-fuer-munch/#more-467 extensive and detailed experience with the original historical framing of the Munch works that allowed the firm to win the contract over four other international bidders. The frames achieve new conservatorial standards through the use of a hidden interior frame utilising magnet technology designed by the Rhineland-Palatinate company HALBE based in Kirchen, Germany. All the materials used were put through rigorous long-term testing to ensure that the chemical and physical properties of the frames will keep the works of Munch safe. For instance, Munch’s painting entitled “Puberty” was loaned to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), marking the first time the painting could be shown in the United States.
The work of the Norwegian artist was controversial from its emergence in the public sphere. His first exhibition in Germany in 1892 in the Berlin Artists’ Club (Verein Berliner Künstler) was considered scandalous and only remained open to visitors for five days. This situation did not, however, damage his artistic career, quite the contrary. In fact the art community was all abuzz about Munch, who was in high demand and, as a result, appeared in a series of other exhibitions. The public’s critical reception was not only directed at Munch’s artistic work, but at the frames he chose for his pictures. As an artist on the threshold of the 20th century, Munch, following the lead of Edgar Degas and Vincent van Gogh, had distanced himself from traditional gilded frames. Munch preferred half-round moulding and simple flat frames with a plain white or brown stained finish: “A good picture can withstand a lot. Only poor pictures must remain whole and be placed in formal heavy frames. I give them just a narrow edge, preferably one that is round and white,” 1 such was Munch’s personal view on pictures and framing.
Several different types of the half-round moulding can be found in historical photographs spanning a period of several years. An original photo from 1906 of the Commeter Gallery in Hamburg shows the aforementioned painting „Puberty“ (1894/95) in white half round. In one image taken in his open-air studio in Ekely in 1929, the artist can be seen in front of a studio wall with two of his standing nudes from 1922-23 and 1922-25 in brown half round as well as the painting "Melancholy" (The Rheinhardt Frieze) from 1906-07 in light-coloured half-round. Then there was the fortuitous discovery of original frames that had been preserved in Munch's summer house and studio in Åsgårdstrand. These lesser-known frames were first discovered in tourists’ photographs found during the historical research of the artwork. Werner Murrer then travelled to Norway to see the frames in person and verify their authenticity. These were frames of flat and fluted moulding as well as half-round profiles with a white finish. Munch's new frames are based on the insights gained through this research. "Puberty", for instance, can once again be seen reframed in white half round. The half-round moulding in a brown finish was chosen for the painting "Red Virginia Creeper" (1898/1900) and the same frame in silver-bronze for "The Kiss" (1897).
Other reconstructions were based on framing profiles that were commonly found in galleries and exhibitions during Munch's lifetime. The painting "Summer night. Inger on the beach" (1889) was shown in Cologne in 1912 at the fourth exhibition of the Sonderbund. The picture hangs in the Art Museums of Bergen in the original frame used for the 1912 Cologne exhibition. This was one of approximately 25 pictures representing Munch's artwork at the Sonderbund exhibition. The moulding consists of double bead in patinated schlagmetal finish. The painting portrays Munch's youngest sister Inger sitting on the shore of Oslo Fjord in Åsgårdstrand. Neo-baroque profile frames with patinated schlagmetal surfaces were also used on some of Munch's paintings. The new frame for "Beneath the Red Apples" (1913-1915) has a neo-baroque profile.
Munch's idea of the perfect frame has not only to do with the type of profile, but also with its condition. He intentionally exposed his works to the weather both in summer and winter to give them natural signs of ageing. Gallerists and dealers found this a hard pill to swallow. Wilhelm Suhr, the director of Cometer Art Dealers writes to Edvard Munch in a letter dated 21 February 1906, "Of course, you will retain the right to determine yourself which sort of frames shall be used for your pictures. That is not, however to say that the pictures are to be exhibited in frames of such condition. (...) These strips, meaning the frames, are – aside from the grime in which they are covered – full of nails." 2 Edvard Munch himself was of the opinion that natural weathering not only didn't harm the pictures, but indeed was good for them: "It is as if my pictures needed a bit of sun and dirt and rain. Then the colours go better together. There is a stark cast to my pictures when they are fresh. That is why I am so afraid when someone washes my pictures or treats them with oil. A bit of dirt and few holes just dresses them up."3
Prior to the opening of the new Munch Museum, the Norwegian artist’s pictures are being presented in their new frames in a number of temporary exhibits around the world. Japan is eagerly awaiting its first visit from Munch’s “The Scream.” This world-renowned painting will be presented in the autumn of this year at the Metropolitan Art Museum Tokyo in new frames by WERNER MURRER RAHMEN.
The German television channel SWR Fernsehen Rheinland-Pfalz will report on the framing project in a programme entitled “Made in Südwest – Neue Rahmen für Edvard Munch” with a particular focus on the new framing of Munch’s world-famous “The Scream”C. The episode will air on May 9th at 6:15 p.m. CET.

1 Stenersen, Rolf: Edvard Munch, Stockholm-Zürich 1950, p.87.
2 MM K 3836, Munchmuseet, 21.2.(19)06.
3 Thurmann-Moe, Jan: «Rosskur» und Firnis bei Edvard Munch. Das 19. Jahrhundert und die Restaurierung. Beiträge zur Malerei, Maltechnik und Konservierung, Essen 1987, p. 120.
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"We give art the right framework" is the motto of WERNER MURRER RAHMEN. The framework studio in Munch is the competent address for picture frames from the production of the frame to the framing of the artwork. WERNER MURRER RAHMEN is spezialized in copies of frames based on historical models. In addition, customers have a large selection of original historical frames from the 16th to the 20th century at their disposal.

WERNER MURRER RAHMEN
Zennerstraße 6/Rgb
81379 München
Tel.: 089/723 6 723
www.murrer-rahmen.de

This release was published on openPR.