Posted on 04/28/2005 2:35:50 PM PDT by aculeus
The Munch masterpieces "The Scream" and "Madonna" have been incinerated, according to newspaper Dagbladet, citing criminal sources and a top secret police report.
The paper claimed Thursday that the paintings were destroyed in order to get rid of damning evidence as the police investigation closes in on the culprits behind the robbery.
Investigation leader Iver Stensrud of the Oslo police said he had no knowledge of the supposedly secret report acknowledging the destruction of the paintings.
"This is completely unknown to Oslo police. I basically have no comment and normally we do not use Dagbladet as a reliable source here at the Oslo police," Stensrud told NRK (Norwegian Broadcasting).
Three people are in custody in connection with the Munch robbery, but none of them are linked to crime via technical evidence, and the pair that carried out the heist are considered to be at large.
Dagbladet cited both criminal and police sources in their reportage, and said that police expect new arrests in the case shortly.
(Aftenposten English Web Desk/NTB)
This is an article from www.aftenposten.no. Updated: 28. april 2005 kl.12:00 © Aftenposten Multimedia.
Publisher: Aftenposten Multimedia A/S, Oslo, Norway.
You are on the list, thanks.
Thanks for the ping.
Did anyone determine if the story is a hoax or not?
Dali's art is not particularly to my taste, but there is no question that he was a master at painting. Viewing his work is always worthwhile.
I own a technical book by the guy on painting technique. An interesting, egotistical, and at times amusing read.
I googled this: Police Doubt Report That 'The Scream' Burned
Thu Apr 28, 2005 8:14 AM ET
OSLO (Reuters) - Norwegian police expressed skepticism about a newspaper report on Thursday that thieves had burned Edvard Munch's missing masterpiece "The Scream" out of fear that investigators were closing in.
"The Oslo police have no knowledge of that," Iver Stensrud, the police chief leading the investigation since gunmen stole the iconic 1893 painting from an Oslo gallery in August 2004, told Norway's NRK public radio.
"The paintings have been burned," the tabloid Dagbladet said in a headline over a story about the missing "The Scream" and "Madonna," which disappeared in the same robbery.
The report quoted what it called a key source in Oslo's criminal underworld as saying the two Munch paintings had been destroyed in recent weeks because thieves apparently feared police were poised to solve the crime.
Dagbladet said a secret police report contained the same information. It said police would have a hard time proving who was guilty if no one confessed and the paintings were never recovered.
Police have arrested and charged three people this month on suspicion of links to the theft but say they do not know the fate of the paintings.
Two gunmen stormed past dozens of tourists on Aug. 22, yanked the two paintings from the walls of the Munch Museum and escaped in a car driven by a third man.
"The Scream" has become a symbol of angst in a world scarred by horrors including the Holocaust, the atom bomb and terrorism. Munch painted four versions of his most famous work -- another was stolen for several months in 1994.
It was unclear who would steal the works by the Norwegian artist, who lived 1863-1944, since they are too well known to be sold legally.
One Norwegian art expert reckoned "The Scream" could fetch $75 million at a legal auction, "Madonna" $15 million. "Madonna" shows a mysterious bare-breasted woman with sweeping black hair.
Even if I learn authoritatively that it was meant as some sort of social comment, I'm going to believe it to be personal. It just fits too well.
As an aside, if one had to predict (before this news item) what works of art were destined to burn, "The Scream" would have to have been high on the list.
I tend to agree with you. I've always thought of this painting as more of a personal statement as well. In fact, there are days when I am in the 9th level of budget hell at work, that I feel like that painting. But then, I think many people have days that evoke similar feelings.
Historically important artifacts, but not masterpieces. The Last Supper is a masterpiece.
Yeah, there are definitely times when we all feel like that. A Kerry win, for instance, would have done it for this entire forum!
But I think Munch must have been truly crazy. I think most crazy folk are fairly miserable and on the edge, with only interludes of relief.
It is usually seen as a harbinger of Expressionism. I see it as representing people under stress; but he did have problems with the strictures of tight Norwegian society, so that could play into it.
I love the ambiguities of The Scream: are the people going toward the single figure or away from him, and is that why he is screaming? Is it a male or female figure? It can be an ink-blot kind of psychological test in a way; what do you reveal about yourself in what you see in the painting?
Great to see what the stolen Madonna painting looks like. It is better than the balder black and white version.
I guess we are relatively lucky that we do have several versions of these works. But I am still in denial that they have actually been burnt. Seems too incredible to me.
I still think that those who destroy artworks should be drawn and quartered: whether it be Saddam Hussein parking his airforce by the ancient ziggurats or these incredibly stupid thieves. If you dislike works enough to burn them, then don't steal them in the first place.
"I've never seen The Scream linked definitively to the nuclear holocaust or the 20th century world wars. Perhaps that's because it was done in the 1890s."
Thanks! The Reuters article associated its popularity with the Holocaust, the atom bomb and terrorism.
I figure to a crazy person, the two figures could be anything from "normal" people who don't know that everything is out of control to sinister characters of some kind.
I can sympathize with your views on drawing and quartering...although that supposes a fairly subjective standard on what qualifies as art. I guess we were all outraged at the Taliban's destruction of Bhuddist art.
The Madonna is beautiful, IMO.
THAT would suck.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.